Centre plans to open one med college in every district in India, says Union Minister
VELLORE: Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Vijay Kumar Singh, said the Indian government plans to open a medical college in every district of the country, on Friday. Singh was speaking at the 38th convocation of VIT University, where he was a special guest.
During the event, Singh said, "These medical colleges will work with government hospitals in the same districts. This way, more students can learn about medicine." Singh also suggested that VIT University consider expanding in Uttar Pradesh and the Northeastern states. This, he added, would help students from these regions get a good education. Singh also said that India's economy has grown by 6.5%, and the government wants India to become a developed country by 2047.
VIT Chancellor G Viswanathan highlighted the dearth of medical seats in India, and said, "Even though many students want to study medicine in India, there are not enough spots in medical colleges. Only one lakh students out of 20 lakh aspirants can study medicine in the 700 medical colleges. This forces many to go to China, the USA, and Russia to study medicine. Thus, the number of seats in Indian medical colleges should be increased from three lakh to four lakh."
Reiterating India as the fifth-largest economy in the world, Viswanathan said that there is room for improvement in the Indian education system, especially in higher education. "More funds should be allocated to education, and starting new educational institutions should be made easier. Currently, only 3% of India's money is used for education," he added and noted that the allocation should be increased to 6% to ensure that those from economically disadvantaged communities can also access education.
Another way to make higher education accessible, Viswanathan noted, is to aid students with education loans. Apart from Singh, Sanjeevjay from Wipro was also a special guest. They felicitated 65 students with gold medals, awarded degrees to 278 students research students, and 8,619 students of UG and PG courses. VIT Vice-Presidents Sankar Viswanathan, G V Selvam, Assistant Vice-President Kathambari S Viswanathan, Vice-Chancellor Rambabukodali, Pro Vice-Chancellor Parthasarathimallik, and others were present.