MP Govt regularly sending reminders to Centre to increase medical college seats: Minister

Jabalpur: The Madhya Pradesh government has already sent a proposal to the Centre to increase the number of seats in medical colleges, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra said here on Friday. He was replying to a query about students from Madhya Pradesh going abroad to study medicine due to the paucity of seats for such courses in the state and what steps the government was taking to improve the situation.

The minister was asked the question as many students from the state are currently stuck in Ukraine, against which Russia has waged a war. "The state government had sent a proposal to the Centre to increase the number of seats in medical colleges and it is regularly sending reminders to it," Mishra, who is also the state government spokesperson, told reporters.

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The number of seats were last increased years back, he said. He was speaking near the central jail here after visiting the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose barrack in the prison, which was opened for the public viewing last month.

"We are planning to open 10 new medical colleges in the state. We are also mulling opening medical colleges through public-private partnership (PPP) PPP mode," Medical Education Minister Vishvas Sarang said on February 9.

The state will get five imported genome sequencing machines from the Centre, while the Madhya Pradesh government will purchase four such machines on its own, he said, adding that these machines will be put to use in different medical colleges in the state.