Karnataka govt to set up 11 new medical colleges

Eleven more medical colleges will come up under Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model in 11 districts of Karnataka.

The new medical colleges will be opened in Tumakuru, Davangere, Chitradurga, Bagalkot, Kolar, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Bengaluru Rural, Vijayapura, Vijayanagara and Ramanagaram.

The State government has already completed the process of site allotment and various clearances for two medical colleges. According to sources, two medical colleges will be made operational in Davanagere and Bengaluru Rural districts in the 2024-25 academic year.

Sujatha Rathod, Director for Directorate of Medical Education, told The Hindu, “To improve the medical infrastructure, health facilities for the rural people and giving more opportunity of medical education for the rural residents, and poor and meritorious students, the State government has decided to start 11 new medical colleges under PPP model in Karnataka.

“Site allotment and other clearances for Davanagere and Bengaluru Rural district medical colleges have been completed. We will look for stakeholders to run the colleges. In these two districts, medical colleges will be functional from the 2024-25 academic year.”

As of now, Karnataka has a total of 57 medical colleges, including 23 run by the government. In 2014-15, the State government announced setting up of medical colleges in several districts. However, construction of the medical colleges in some districts could not be started owing to financial constraints. Setting up and running a medical college is a huge expense, which can go up to ₹600 crore.

According to the NITI Aayog, it is practically impossible for the Union and State governments to bridge the gaps in medical education with their limited resources. Therefore, the Aayog proposed to hand over district hospitals with 750 beds to private medical colleges through PPP model. The State government then decided to start new medical colleges under PPP model in 11 districts of Karnataka.

The State government will allot land to private firms for construction of the colleges. The firms will invest funds for the college building, infrastructure, teaching and non-teaching staff. Then the government will hand over the district hospital to the private firm for clinical practice. However, the district hospital staff will work under the Department of Health and Family Welfare of the State government. The Hindu