: The new medical college, proposed as a branch of JIPMER here, will start functioning from August end, Karaikal District Collector P Parthiban said here today.
The college will admit 50 students for the MBBS course for the 2016-17 academic year.
Speaking to PTI after inspecting ongoing work at the makeshift location for the new college, the Collector said the Puducherry Government was starting the college with Union Government's assistance.
He said classrooms, administrative office and library buildings are ready and laboratories were also being set up. Hostels for students are also ready. Until the new institution gets its permanent campus, students studying in this college would make use of Karaikal General Hospital, he said
Parthiban said the Karaikal Government Hospital was being given a facelift with additional facilities and equipment.
Stating that Puducherry Government had already allotted 78-acre land at Karaikal to construct the permanent campus,he said Government planned to set up the institution as a centre of excellence in medical education in the Union Territory.
The new medical college will also improve the health care needs of people of not only Karaikal district, but also neighbouring districts in Tamil Nadu, said the Collector.
Parthiban said that of the 50 MBBS seats in the institute this year, students of Puducherry would get 14 seats, while the remaining 36 seats will go under All India quota.
Classes will commence from the latter half of August, he added.
