CHENNAI: Health minister Ma Subramanian on Wednesday said his department was working towards opening TN’s third government dental college with an intake of 50 students, by next academic year.
Speaking to reporters at the anniversary event of Government Dental College in Chennai, he said almost 80% of the construction of the college, coming up in Pudukkottai, was complete. The government would also obtain approval from the Dental Council of India before commencing admission.
In September first week, he and the health secretary would meet Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya in New Delhi and request him to speed up the construction of AIIMS in Madurai, so that AIIMS students given admission at Ramanathapuram medical college could shift to their campus.
They would also explain to Mandaviya the need for medical colleges in Tenkasi, Ranipet, Kancheepuram, Mayiladuthurai, and Tirupathur in TN in line with the State government’s policy of establishing one medical college in every district. The health department would also fill vacancies in all medical institutions via Medical Recruitment Board.
As part of the anniversary celebrations of Government Dental College in Chennai, teams from the college would screen students of Chennai corporation, government, and aided schools for dental problems and provide treatment for free. The health department would discuss this programme with the school education department and a schedule would be prepared on the number of schools to be covered daily.
He also said Chief Minister MK Stalin would inaugurate a new building for Regional Institute of Ophthalmology in Egmore in two weeks. Children with eye problems would be given free treatment in the new facility. Also, the construction of 709 Urban Wellness Centres was progressing well.
The health department was also planning to construct one paramedical college/university on an available plot of land close to the Institute of Child Health in Egmore, he added.