Sikkim: First Government Medical College coming up

Sikkim: Children’s Day indeed brought a gift for medical aspirants of the state when the Sikkim Chief Minister, Pawan Chamling, at a Children’s Day function in the state announced the setting up of the first Government Medical College. The college is to be called 'Sikkim Institute of Medical Sciences." He said this was being done to prevent children from leaving the state to pursue their medical dream.

“Today, on the occasion of Children’s Day, I would like to announce that my government will set up a medical college in Sikkim. Many children go out of the state to fulfill their dream of becoming doctors. But now, my government will fulfill their dream.”

The Chief minister was speaking at a Children’s Day program organized by the state Human Resource Development Department and attended by Governor, Shriniwas Patil.

“The new medical college would be set up at the upcoming 1,000-bed super specialty hospital at Lower Sichey, around 5km from Gangtok,” informed Chamling. “The hospital is being built by the government on a 17-acre plot,” he added.

The Chief Minister said they would pursue the matter with the Union Ministry of Health and the Medical Council of India. “We will see how things work out. I can’t say how much time it would take to set up the college,” said the CM.

Presently, Sikkim has a single private medical college with an annual intake of a 100 students .

“More than 90 per cent of students go out of Sikkim to study MBBS, nursing and other para-medical courses such as physiotherapy, lab technology and radiology at different medical colleges. If a government medical college is set up in Sikkim, then they can take admissions here,” added an HRD official.