AHMEDABAD: No government medical colleges have been established in the state since 1995, the Gujarat government has admitted in the assembly. However, permissions for four private medical colleges were granted last year, the government added. Also, of the 508 new nursing schools and colleges set up in two years, only one was the state government’s initiative.
Responding to Congress MLA Amit Chavda’s question in the Assembly on Thursday, the government said in a written reply that six government medical colleges are operating in the state, with the first established in Ahmedabad in 1871 and the last in Bhavnagar in 1995. Thus, the Gujarat government has not had a single government medical college constructed since 1995.
It further stated that while no government medical colleges were approved in 2022 or 2023, four private medical colleges were given a go-ahead in 2023. In 2022, five medical colleges run by the Gujarat Medical Education & Research Society (a registered trust of the Gujarat government) got government approval. In the past two years, no new government or grant-aided college for Ayurveda and Homeopathy degrees has been sanctioned in the state.
In response to another query posed by Congress MLA Ganiben Thakor, the government stated that 508 new nursing schools and colleges have opened in the state in the last two years, with only one established by the state government. The remaining 507 were all private colleges. In 2023-24, a total of 315 such institutes were established, of which only one, MSC Nursing Government College, was government-run.
On the one hand, no new government medical college has opened in Gujarat in nearly three decades; on the other, Health Minister Rushikesh Patel claims that the government intends to establish a medical college in each district.
“By 2027, the government aims to increase the number of medical seats at undergraduate and postgraduate levels to 12,200,” said health minister.
“The fees of government colleges must be low compared to private colleges to enable the poor and middle-class students to become doctors, but the Gujarat government has not established any new government medical college in the last 29 years because this government cares only for rich and industrialists,” said Amit Chavda, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly.
507 pvt nursing colleges
The govt said six government medical colleges are operating in the state, with the first one established in Ahmedabad in 1871 and the last in Bhavnagar in 1995. The govt stated 508 new nursing schools and colleges have opened in the state in last two years, with only one established by the state administration. The remaining 507 are all private colleges.