The Himachal Pradesh Assembly unanimously cleared Himachal Pradesh Health Science University bill 2017 to regulate the State Government, Private Medical Colleges, Nursing and Pharmacy and other health institutions in the State. Health Minister Mr. Kaul Singh Thakur introduced the bill in the House for discussion and stated that presently all health education is being provided by the Government at private medical colleges and institutions under the overall of control of Himachal Pradesh University.
He said that there is no separate medical university to regulate such health and medical education in the state. Many other states such as Punjab Haryana, Karnataka have their separated act to regulate the health and medical education and matter connected there with. In order to provide quality education and health care and to produce the best health care personnel, it is considered to expedient in the larger public interest to establish a separate university and separate legislations on the analogy of separate state. He proposed in the bill to attained the objective namely to provide the single platform for the health educationists of the state to improve and standardize the health education in the process of teaching, learning and evaluation system.
Mr. Thakur said that the bill would bring the uniformity in the field of health education and promote and carry out research in the various
discipline of health science. He said it would provide latest health care facilities and health education like Punjab Haryana Karnataka where the health education is being provided under the ambit and scope of health Education. Minister informed that the university would be set up at ESI Nehar choke in Mandi district as the state government has built up infrastructure there.
He said that about 150 seats were allowed by the MCI at ESI medical colleges in which 75 percent would be the reserve for state and 25 per cent for other states. He said that seven seats have been reserved for the students of the local area. He denied the demand to set up the Medical University at IGMC stating that state government was converting the institutions to Super speciality but there is the dearth of land at IGMC complex at Shimla. He said that ten super speciality wards were being set up after acquiring the land at Chamyana in outskirts of Shimla and case have been sent to Dehradun to acquire more land to expand the IGMC campus there.
Minister said that that Himachal Pradesh University was currently regulating the fee structure of private and government
medical colleges. Minister said that if NRI seats left vacant it was being converted to general seat in the state after fixing Rs 5.50 lakh fee for per seat and Rs nine lakh for students belonged to outside the state. He assured the member that government may consider to further reduced the fee structure if UGC, WHO and other financial institutions come forward to help the state. He said that including two existing medical college two new state medical college would start functioning at Chamba and Nahan soon. Minister said more than 650 posts of doctors were lying vacant due to shortage trained staff.
