Centre approves three new medical colleges in Gujarat

Ahmedabad: The Union ministry of health and family welfare on Thursday approved 50 new medical colleges including three private colleges in Gujarat. The new colleges in the state include Ananya College of Medicine and Research at Kalol in Gandhinagar, SAL Institute of Medical Sciences at Sola Road in Ahmedabad, and Swaminarayan Institute of Medical Sciences and Research at Kalol in Gandhinagar. These new colleges will have 150 seats each.

Sources said there are 36 medical colleges in the state with about 7,000 seats. With the addition of the three colleges, the state will have 39 medical colleges with about 7,450 seats. The colleges will begin academic sessions from 2023-24 meaning that 450 more seats will be available this year.

Recently, the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2023 on May 7. Around 21 lakh students registered for NEET-UG 2023, including 80,000 students from Gujarat. The results are eagerly awaited, and the admission process for medical colleges will commence shortly after the announcement of NEET UG results.

Sources indicated that the health ministry is likely to approve another private medical college in Surat. The inspection has already been carried out, and all necessary formalities have been completed. If granted approval, this new college in Surat will also accommodate 150 seats, further expanding the total number of medical seats in the state to 7,600.

Additionally, it has been revealed that the SAL Institute of Medical Sciences in Sola will be situated on the same campus as the Kesar SAL Medical College, which was closed in 2009-10. Following the closure of Kesar SAL Medical College, the affected students were transferred to other medical colleges.