The Medical Council of India (MCI) has agreed to issue letter of permission (LoP) for the new medical colleges of Kashmir at Anantnag and Baramulla, for intake of their first batch of students this year.
On Thursday, MCI, in separate communications to Government Medical College Anantnag and GMC Baramulla sought undertakings from the principals of the two colleges. “The Board of Governors has come to a conclusion that a letter may be issued for obtaining certain essential documents in connection with issuance of LoP for establishment of new medical college Baramulla/Anantnag with annual intake capacity of 100 students in MBBS course from the academic session 2019-20,” read the communications.
Principal secretary health and medical education, Atal Dulloo said that the letters from MCI were a ‘good news’ for the students here and communicated that the Council had agreed in principle to issue LoP for starting MBBS at the two colleges from this year itself. “The undertaking is being sent and in a few days, we will get a formal letter of permission from the Council,” he said. With this, he said, the State will have 200 additional MBBS seats, 100 each at GMC Anantnag and Baramulla.
The undertaking/acceptance of conditions sought by MCI, include ensuring infrastructural facilities in terms of teaching and non-teaching staff, buildings, equipment and hospital facilities as per MCI norms; that requisite funds will be allocated till the facilities are fully provided; that no student will be admitted till a formal LoP is received.
While other upcoming medical colleges across India have an additional clause seeking guarantee to allocate 15 percent of their seats to all-India quota, colleges in J&K, the letter states, are exempted from this.
The letter has underlined that a formal letter will be issued on ‘receipt of a compliance report’ regarding the three laid down conditions and a bank guarantee. The colleges have been given three days to furnish the requisite documents after which the LoP will be issued.
