Nagaland's First Medical College, Challenges Turned into Opportunities," Stated the Director; Check Details Here

New Delhi: The first medical school in the state, Nagaland Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (NIMSR), opened its doors to its inaugural class of 100 MBBS students on September 1, 2023. 

Given the delays and construction difficulties encountered at the site in Kohima's Phriebagie, Dr. Soumya Chakraborty, dean-cum-director of NIMSR, stated that she "never anticipated" the college would be able to participate in the admission process (NEET counselling) this year.

Chakraborty discussed the development of the medical college, her goal of elevating NIMSR, and the difficulties associated with running a medical school there. 

The Nagaland government made the decision to establish the state's own medical college in 2014. The proposal was given to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2014-2015. The college's construction began in 2016-17 after receiving authorisation from the central government. The Covid-19 epidemic occurred after the project had already been delayed because of landslides, subsidence, and other natural calamities.

Chakraborty said, “We had difficulties because the site designated for the medical college was located in Kohima's sinking zone. After construction was finished in 2018-19, underground water began to enter the building, and the soil collapsed. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019-2021, it was further postponed. Later, the engineers put plans in place to ensure that the buildings of the medical college would never collapse. Once more, construction started, and by 2023, it was practically finished. We were able to provide a Letter of Permission (LoP) for 100 MBBS seats when National Medical Commission (NMC) representatives visited our campus in April of this year. This is because we have the necessary number of faculty members and equipment. The college began operations on September 1, 2023, and the first-year MBBS batch is now enrolled in regular classes.”

Out of the 100 MBBS seats available at NIMSR, 85 are reserved for Nagaland students, and the remaining 15 are All India Quota (AIQ) seats. After the second round of NEET UG Counselling 2023, we have filled 92 seats, including every one of the 85 state quota seats. 

A score of between 300 and 400 was required to advance to the second round. The Nagaland government's directorate of technical education, directorate of health and family welfare, and NIMSR collaborated on the counselling program.

Since the bulk of the students who have applied for admission here have not requested an upgrade, we anticipate that as soon as new students begin enrolling, the third and mop-up rounds will be completely filled. 

Students from Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Delhi have applied for admission under the All India Quota (AIQ) program.

Now that NIMSR is operating, Nagaland students would be more motivated to enrol in medical programs because their state is home to a medical college. They won't have to relocate to another state to continue their MBBS studies any longer. 

All state and federal health-related policies are being carried out in the fully operational teaching hospital at NIMSR. Therefore, we want to build a research centre in NIMSR and will have access to all the most recent technologies and equipment connected to health infrastructure. 

Nagaland's population is more rural and less urban. NMC's family adoption plan and community services including health awareness, education, and orientation campaigns would greatly help the state's rural population.

Chakraborty also stated that, “We now solely offer an MBBS course. It will take three to four years for a new medical college to be built in the Mon area, which borders Burma. We intend to begin the DNB and postgraduate programs by then. On the NIMSR campus, the nursing college is also just getting started. We will start offering nursing courses as soon as it is completely operational.”

“I want to emphasise to my students from Nagaland and other regions of the nation that they are the ones who establish the standards for the college. They serve as the college's torchbearers and representatives. To ensure that NIMSR expands beyond the Nagaland region and becomes one of the institutions of national and international significance, I expect all of my students from the current and upcoming batches to push the institution to new heights.” he added further.

Read More: 

• Nagaland NEET Counselling 2023 Documents Required

• Nagaland NEET Counselling 2023 Merit List, Dates, Registration, Fees, Seat Matrix, Allotment

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