The Gujarat government plans to introduce the Medical University Of Gujarat bill in the state assembly in an effort to bring uniformity to medical education in the state. The bill proposes to consolidate 400-odd medical and allied colleges under one university, which will solely oversee the operation of medical colleges.
The change will have a significant impact on medical education because it proposes that all MBBS, dental, physiotherapy, ayurveda, homoeopathy, and nursing colleges have common syllabi, academic calendars, examinations, and, most importantly, a consistent pattern of processes and assessment.
According to top sources, CM Bhupendra Patel was given a draught of the new bill last Friday, the culmination of one and a half decades of efforts to make medical education in the state uniform.
“The CM has been given a presentation on the proposed medical university bill. Irrespective of college, 40,000-odd medical, paramedical and alternative medicine students will a uniform system of education,” a top source in the state government told sources.
Students who secure admission in the first year of medical, paramedical, ayurveda, homoeopathy, and nursing courses in the 2022-23 academic year will be inducted into the new medical university if the proposed bill is ratified in the Gujarat assembly’s budget session.
The proposed new medical university will be established in the same way that the Gujarat Technological University was established (GTU).
When GTU was formed in 2007, affiliation of all technical education courses of various state-run universities were shifted to GTU.
On the other hand, established state-run universities will lose some prestige as medical colleges affiliated with them transfer affiliation to the proposed medical university. These universities will only be able to offer science, arts, and commerce programmes.
According to sources, paramedical courses at 16 private universities will continue to fall outside the purview of this medical university.