HP University of Health Sciences Bill, 2017 passed

Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 25

Rising above political considerations, the Vidhan Sabha today unanimously passed the Himachal Pradesh University of Health Sciences Bill, 2017, on the last day of the four-day monsoon session.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Kaul Singh Thakur introduced the Bill after the three-day stalemate, which also continued at the start of the session today but was resolved afterwards. “At present, the health education is being provided by the government and the private medical colleges and institutions are under the overall control of Himachal Pradesh University but there is no separate medical university to regulate such institutions,” said Thakur.

The Bill will greatly help in reining in private medical colleges, especially with regard to admissions, faculty, fee structure and its revision. He said the legislation would help in improving the quality of medical facilities and regulating admissions and fee structure. “Many other states such as Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka and others have their separate Acts to regulate medical education and matters connected therewith,” he said.

The headquarters of the university shall be Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College, Ner Chwok in Mandi. It will formulate and implement syllabi, conduct and regulate entrance, prescribe conditions for affiliation, fix fees and standardise methods of evaluation and assessment and hold examinations.

Leader of Opposition PK Dhumal said the legislation would help improve quality of health professionals. He, however, suggested that the unfilled NRI seats must be placed in the state quota on subsidised fee so that more and more deserving and poor students can take up medical education.

Jai Ram Thakur raised concern over MoU in which 30 seats have been given to ESI Corporation which was hitting the students who qualify for government quota.

Suresh Bhardwaj demanded that the site of the university should be the IGMC. “I also request the government to develop the IGMC as an autonomous premiere institute like the PGI,” he said.