Meghalaya Govt to draft new Act to regulate medical colleges in State

Shillong, Oct 18: Following the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) approval to PA Sangma International Medical College of University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM), to begin MBBS courses, Meghalaya Government has decided to soon come up with an Act for operationalisation of medical colleges in the state. The Act will regulate operations of government as well as private medical colleges in the state.

PA Sangma International Medical College is the 1st private medical college in Meghalaya. NMC has given its approval to start MBBS course in the academic year 2024-25 with an intake of 150 students.

Following a state Cabinet chaired by the Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. M Ampareen Lyngdoh said, “We are mandated as a state government to monitor allocations of seats, fees of courses, and we have therefore decided that cabinet will again sit after the health department brings forward its plan for the Act,” she said.

A follow-up cabinet meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, where further details will be shared.

Previously, Lyngdoh had mentioned the allocation of 40 additional medical seats for Meghalaya students at USTM. However, she noted a change in stance due to legal precedents. “Therefore, we are correcting our stance. There are Supreme Court judgments that mandate the state to enact laws to avoid confusion in allotment of seats and fees. So we will come up with an Act and we will have to fast track that Act hence the cabinet will meet again,” she informed.

“And if necessary, we will have to bring an ordinance so that we are mandated as per law to operationalise the USTM’s medical college,” she added.

Lyngdoh further stated that there is no confusion on the part of the state government in this regard.

“Once the NOC has been given to USTM to start operation, it is offering the state government some seats but we have to be guided by an Act and hence to make sure that we are doing things in the correct way, we follow what is being done in other states. Other states also have private medical colleges. We have to do that and we have to follow and make sure that the best practice is adopted so that we are guided by this Act,” she said while adding that it is not about 40 or 30 medical seats but there’s a need for an Act to guide the state on the matter.

“Certain states give 60% and certain states give 30%…we have to decide as a state which is the model of operation in our state,” the minister maintained.

Lyngdoh said the department will try its best to complete the process before the end of October, which is again mandated for all medical courses to begin.

Meghalaya government has been trying to establish a state-owned medical college for decades. Currently, work is on to establish the Shillong Medical College with hopes to make it operational by 2025-26. NMC officials have visited the state and provided guidance to the state government in the past. The state government has also organised an orientation programme for specialists to take up teaching faculty roles at the upcoming Shillong Medical College.

A similar medical college is also being established in Tura, Garo Hills, which is a greenfield project and would be operationalised by 2027.

Currently, the state has only one government medical college, which is North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS), based on the outskirts of Shillong, under Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. It was established in 2008 and admits 50 students per year for the undergraduate course of MBBS.

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