PGI, Health Ministry team reaches Faridkot

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, February 18

To take a decision about the starting of classes for the first batch of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bathinda, from the premises of Government Medical College at Faridkot, an eight-member team of doctors from the PGI, Chandigarh, AIIMS Delhi and Union Ministry of Health reached here on Monday.

Admissions for AIIMS, Bathinda, will be done from Delhi and the first batch of MBBS students in the Bathinda medical college will have to attend their classes in other medical college as AIIMS, Bathinda, building is under construction.

AIIMS, New Delhi, the entrance exam conducting authority, has already invited applications for entrance test for admission to MBBS-2019 course in Bathinda AIIMS. The entrance exam will be conducted on May 25 and 26.

To take a decision about the transit campus for the first batch of MBBS students in AIIMS, Bathinda, the team led by Dr Arvind Rajwanshi from the PGI, Chandigarh, has these options to take classes — Government Medical College, Faridkot, and Advanced Cancer Institute and Polytechnic College in Bathinda.

As students of AIIMS, Bathinda, will get their own building in about two years, there is a need to make a short-term arrangement, said Satish Chandra, secretary, Department of Medical Education and Research (DMER).

Government Medical College, Faridkot, is a constituent college of the BFUHS and the university authorities believe that the college was the most suitable place for the classes as it has adequate number of classrooms, API hall, practical hall of biochemistry department and dissection hall of anatomy department.

The first two years of MBBS include anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, microbiology, pharmacology and forensic medicine. So, only an equipped and operational medical college could provide essential infrastructure for students.

However, the Bathinda administration believed that the vacant rooms at the cancer institute were sufficient for the classes. However, the Baba Farid University authorities have raised questions about practical classes and dissection for anatomy classes in its favour.

Spread in an area of 177 acres, the construction cost of AIIMS, Bathinda, is estimated to be about Rs 1,000 crore.