New Delhi : The Medical Council of India officers are set to inspect six new government medical colleges in Karnataka to analyse their suitability and how prepared they are for teaching medical students. The MCI team will visit colleges at Gulbarga, Koppal, Chamrajnagar, Karwar, Madikeri and Gadag, according to an announcement by the Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash R Patil to PTI reporters. 

The state government is unable to increase the quota of medical seats in its pool as MCI is yet to inspect the six new medical colleges, Patil said. The government will try its best to get the MCI nod for the new colleges, he added. The recruitment process for the new medical colleges has already begun and infrastructure work is underway, Patil said.

The government is also committed to set up six more medical colleges as announced in this year’s state budget, he said. The colleges will be set up in Tumkur, Chitradurga, Chickballapur, Bagalkot, Haveri and Yadgir, Patil said. Besides, the government plans to set up super-speciality hospitals in Mysore, Hubli, Gulbarga, Belgaum and Bellary to make healthcare affordable.

Lands have been identified in all these districts, except Yadgir and Chickballapur. “We have directed the deputy commissioners of these two districts to identify the land,” he added. These colleges will be established in collaboration with the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Patil said.

Currently, Karnataka has 46 institutes recognised by the Medical Council of India, offering MBBS courses, with a total of 6,755 seats. The major universities under which MBBS courses are offered (as specified by MCI) are: Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, KLE University (Deemed Univ.), Belgaum, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Sri Devaraj Urs University, Sri Siddhartha University, Tumkur and Yenepoya University.