Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur has become the state’s first health cradle to have 150 seats in its MBBS course.

The Medical Council of India (MCI) has added 100 seats to the course for the academic session starting this year.

With the MCI permission, the institution now has the maximum number of MBBS seats among government medical colleges in the state. (See chart)

Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, the general secretary of Bihar Medical Teachers’ Association, said: “It is a welcome step on the part of MCI. At present, no government medical college or private medical college has 150 seats in its MBBS course. But I fail to understand why the Darbhanga Medical College (DMCH) or the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) have not been granted 150 seats. DMCH is far bigger than SKMCH, while PMCH is the biggest in the state.”

Students are glad that more aspiring doctors will get a chance to study in Bihar.

Ambrin Akhtar, an MBBS student at Nalanda Medical College and Hospital, said: “I don’t know what kind of facilities are being offered at SKMCH. The MCI team must have seen something in it to raise the number of seats to 150. Now, more students will get an opportunity to pursue their MBBS degree in their home state.”

The principal of SKMCH, Dr D.K. Sinha, said he received a letter from the MCI on Wednesday, permitting the institution to allow admission in 150 seats. Admissions for the new MBBS session will take place in July-August, he said.

Prerna Jha, a student preparing for medical entrance examinations, said: “With the MCI move, the cut-off mark for admission to SKMCH can come down.”

The MCI has also sought no-objection certificates by Friday from the state government and Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University, Muzaffarpur, (which conducts examinations of the medical college) for increasing the number of seats in the MBBS course.

Dr Sinha said: “The no-objection certificates would be furnished by April 12 after completing the necessary formalities.”

SKMCH superintendent Dr G.K. Thakur, as well as its faculty members, hailed the MCI’s move. “The state government has been trying to increase the number of seats in the MBBS course at SKMCH for a long time now. That day is not far when the number of beds at the hospital would be increased from the existing 500 to 1,500,” he said.

Dr A.K. Das, medicine faculty, SKMCH, said: “The state government should now act swiftly to fill up the vacant posts of teachers for better provision of training.”