The first classes of MBBS students have begun enrolling at Srinagar’s Government Medical College (GMC) Handwara and GMC Udhampur.
This is being heralded as a major step forward in expanding the availability of high-quality healthcare to underserved regions of Jammu and Kashmir.
Aspirants to these medical schools were overjoyed by the seat expansion this year, and all 85 available seats were filled in the first round of counselling.
J&K’s medical schools provide 15% of their total 1300 seats to the All-India quota.
J&K has been a member of the AIQ for two years running.
The names and college assignments of 1113 applicants have been made public, as confirmed by Greater Kashmir by Firdous Giri, secretary of the Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (BoPEE).
Many of the hopefuls, he added, had already enrolled at universities like GMC Handwara and Udhampur.
The last enrollment day is August 18.
He was pleased with the positive reception the new medical schools had received.
Director of New GMC Coordination, Dr. Yashpal Sharma, recently told Greater Kashmir that the new general medical centres (GMCs) in Handwara and Udhampur have improved healthcare access outside of major cities.
He predicted that healthcare in these regions will continue to improve as fresh recruits were brought on board.
Dr. Sharma elaborated by saying that the GMCs’ faculties were well qualified, and that the affiliated hospitals were served by senior physicians from highly regarded institutions.
“First of all, the doctor shortage is addressed as the faculty of the medical college is a senior specialist,” he said.
Dr. Sharma predicted that in a few years, the influx of new medical students will significantly reduce the need for recommendations.
In addition to increasing the number of physicians and educational opportunities, he emphasised that the primary mission of medical schools is to increase people’s access to, and satisfaction with, healthcare.
Dr. Sharma acknowledged that the facilities at the new GMCs were not yet fully operational.
Although the process may be lengthy, no sacrifices will be made in the quality of the instruction provided. We have everything the pupils may possibly need for their academic pursuits on hand, he remarked.
Kupwara district is included in GMC Handwara’s service area.
The district is the most under-served in terms of healthcare access and personnel, and it is two to nine hours away from Srinagar.
The new medical universities in J&K are part of a larger national effort to improve medical education and healthcare delivery in the country.
Problems including a lack of doctors and uneven access to healthcare, particularly in outlying regions, were among the motivations for the creation of these schools.
In the initial stage of this project, five medical colleges were established in J&K.
