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During
recent years students’ inclination towards medical
education has rapidly increased. We are votaries to
quality management in the medical colleges run by the
state government. Right from the start of our government’s
tenure we have been dedicated towards this cause and had
identified the irritants which were proving to be hurdles
in the standards set by Medical Council of India. It was
sure that even an iota of improvement was not possible
without removing these hurdles.
In
fact style of work betrays the intentions behind it. All
hurdles give way if the intentions are sincere. These days
adequate funds are required to run any system smoothly and
effectively and then only work on the future strategy is
set in motion. I would like to underline a fact here that
our government took over the medical education budget
provision in the year 2003-04 was a paltry Rs 65 crore per
annum. We continued to increase the budget for medical
education year after year. As a result, it now stands at a
whopping Rs 275 crore per annum as per budgetary
provisions of 2007-08. Increasing the medical education
budge four-fold during the last four years is synonymous
with intentions to something solid for medical education.
We
had also realised the basic need of adequate teaching
staff at medical colleges. We are neither after cheap
publicity not our intention is comparison with others. In
fact, we want to bring to people’s notice the meaningful
and constructive works undertaken by us with the
dedication to fulfil people’s aspirations. Materialsing
our deep feelings about the teaching staff, we took
several important decisions after 2003 and created 212
posts of demonstrators in medical colleges. Similarly, 299
posts of assistant lecturers were filled.
The
ability and deftness of those imparting medical education
is bound to be affected if they do not get their due
rights. With this in view, we effected promotions on 70
posts apart from elevating 67 teachers to the posts
assistant professors. This we have done to ensure that
there is no dearth of experts and experienced teachers
after the retirement of present staff. Continued presence
of expert and experience teachers is a must in realising
our dedicated and devoted efforts that at least one phase
of the long process of developing a new generation. In
this context we have raised the retirement age of medical
college lecturers from 62 to 65 years.
Our
government has undertaken serious efforts to remove
paucity of staff about which Medical Council of India had
raised objection. It was not only for the sake of making a
formality in reply to an objection but also because
provision of adequate teaching staff had been our firm
determination. Therefore, we have filled 1119 posts of
medical teaching staff during recent days and the process
of filling the vacant posts is still on. I would like to
explain here that the reason behind a little delay in
filling the posts was that candidates against reserved
posts were not available. Now we are giving serious
thought to the idea of filling these posts from the
candidates of general category.
Our
intentions were sincere that the target was clear.
Therefore, we had no hesitation in removing other
objections raised by Medical Council of India. The MCI had
made a remark about medical appliances and construction
works. Therefore, we made provisions of Rs 5.21 crore and
Rs 5.96 crore respectively and we are nearing completion
of both the target. Let me also clear here that Medical
Council of India had raised 73 objections about medical
colleges in Madhya Pradesh in the year 2003 when another
government was in power. However, after coming to power in
the state after that period, our government made sincere
efforts to overcome those shortcomings and during four
years of our regime the number of lacunae pointed out by
MCI have been reduced to 21 from 73. Remarkable is the
fact that at Bhopal and Indore medical colleges, the
objected lacunae have ceased to exist. But we would not
relent until shortcomings in all the medical colleges in
the state are overcome.
Why
did we accepted the challenge of extending medical
education can be explicit from the fact that no new
medical college was established in the government sector
during the last 40 years before our government did so
recently. Construction of this new medical college is
fasting progressing at Sagar divisional headquarters.
Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced
establishment of a medical college at Sagar during his
first tour and fulfilled the promise within a few months.
This is also one of the proofs of our commitment.
Our
government has always been active in promoting Indian
systems of medicines and treatment and never
differentiated between allopathy and these systems of
medicine. It is remarkable that during the last four years
people’s faith in Indian systems of medicine and
homoeopthy has increased. Keeping this in view, the state
government has established a Rs 15 crore joint medical
college at Bhopal where Ayurved, Homoeopathy and Unani
systems of medicines would be taught. This unique medical
college would be dedicated to people soon. Similarly, we
have got Ujjain’s Government Ayurved College recognised
as a Model College by the Union government. Bhopal’s
Government Homoeopathy College and Government Unani
College have also been recognised as Model Colleges. Rs 6
crore grant has been received by us for undertaking
various works at these three medical colleges.
When
efforts smack of truthfulness, then many hands are also
raised to extend help. As a result of soulful efforts,
government of India has given us sanction to open
Specialised Treatment Centres of Ayurved in 31 district
hospitals in the state and one Specialised Treatment
Centre of Homoeopathy. In the wake of constant and
intensive efforts the number of patients turning up at
Ayush hospital’s dispensaries has increased
considerably.
We
are going to fill 120 posts of teaching staff in seven
Ayurvedic Colleges as per the standards set by Medical
Council of India. Twenty sanctioned posts in each
homoeopthy college would also be filled soon.
Due
to success of our efforts in the field of indigenous
medicine sector, sanction has been given to us to appoint
one doctor and one pharmacist at 200 selected community
and primary health centres under National Rural Health
Mission. Financial grant to the tune of Rs one crore has
been given to us. We are going to appoint doctors in 167
Community Health Centres and 28 primary health centres of
Ayush dispensaries. We would not relent in our efforts,
which have created an enthusiastic atmosphere and in this
context we have also chalked out our future strategies for
undertaking solid work in this direction.
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