The Assam government’s plan to build a “cutting edge health ecosystem” would ensure accessible healthcare and create abundant job opportunities that would help create a new health economy, said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday, June 26.
The chief minister made these remarks at the third convocation of Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati, where 815 students were awarded degrees of commendation, reports ANI.
"Our ambitious plan to establish a cutting-edge health education ecosystem will ensure accessible healthcare and abundant job opportunities to create a New Health Economy. At the third convocation of the Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences, we witnessed this transformative vision unfold," he said.
In the last two decades, he said, there has been a transformative change in health education in the state and it has gained new momentum after the establishment of Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences.
The chief minister said that there were only three medical colleges in the state, with one dental college and one nursing college, when he was the education minister of the state. The state’s medical aspirants would rely on just these five colleges to receive medical education. In the following years, however, he said that there has been a paradigm shift in the state’s academic landscape – especially pertaining to the improvement of medical education. The improvement of the infrastructure of medical education, apart from intake capacities into the medical colleges, created new opportunities for jobs. This positive change gained new momentum in the year 2015, he added.
The number of medical colleges in Assam has risen to 12 now, mentioned Sarma. The Assam state government took the decision to set up medical colleges during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially after the people of the state felt the need for more ICU beds.
Taking responsibility for the people of the state, the government has taken a decision to increase the number of medical colleges and hospitals to 25, he said.
He also said that the state government has increased the number of MBBS seats from 350 to 1,500, in order to transform Assam into a hub of medical education in South East Asian nations. Along with this, the number of postgraduation (PG) medical seats has also risen to 722.
One BSc Nursing will be set up in every college to meet the demand for nurses, he said.
Lead the way...
The chief minister appealed to the Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences to take a crucial role in fostering health education in Assam, as he said that the state government has taken several steps to introduce new courses.
Talking about digitisation and its role in delivering cutting-edge health care, the chief minister asked the university authorities to take steps for digital application.
Chief Minister Sarma felicitated veteran doctors Dulal Chandra Borkataky and Alaka Goswami on behalf of Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences at the event.
Other dignitaries present on the occasion include Health and Family Welfare Minister Keshab Mahanta, Principal Secretary Health and Family Welfare Department Avinash Joshi, Commissioner and Secretary Medical Education and Research Siddharth Singh, VC Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences Dr Dhruba Jyoti Bora, Director of Medical Education Dr Anup Barman, and hosts of others.
