By TCN News,
Aligarh: The golden jubilee of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College & Hospital, Aligarh Muslim University was observed on Sunday with two senior cabinet ministers of Congress-led UPA Government at the centre making several announcements for JNMC.
The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad on the occasion inaugurated Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology with a cost of Rs. 397.81 Lakhs.
Union Ministers Mr. Kapil Sibal and Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad at JN Medical College’s Golden Jubilee celebrationss
Mr. Azad also laid down the foundation of the upgradation of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College hospital under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna (PMSSY), Phase-II with a cost of Rs. 150 lakhs on the eve of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the J. N. Medical College of the Aligarh Muslim University.
Addressing the Golden Jubilee celebrations at the Kennedy Auditorium, Union Health Minister, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad announced that 19 medical colleges of the country including J. N. Medical College of AMU were being upgraded to the level of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
He also announced that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare would provide all financial grants and amenities at par with those of top central government hospitals in New Delhi.
Referring to the contributions of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the founder of the Aligarh Muslim University, Mr. Azad said that Sir Syed Ahmad created a history in the field of advancement of modern education. He had a vision and mission and worked for the educational awareness during the British Raj.
Union Ministers Mr. Sibal and Mr. Azad at the JNMC
The Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Communications and Information Technology, Mr. Kapil Sibal graced the occasion as Chief Guest.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Kapil Sibal said that he is aware that the grants of J. N. Medical College have not been revised for a long while and assured that within a month’s time sufficient grants on a normative basis would be ensured for the College. He said that the MHRD will make “certain” that this college is counted amongst the best medical institutions in the country in the years to come.
Mr. Sibal said, “It is unfortunate that the health parameter indicates for the Muslim community in India are at the bottom of the pile. We face great challenges in the field of health. Our health services in rural areas are inadequate, availability of doctors and trained health personnel is far from satisfactory. The cost of healthcare is creeping up beyond the reach of the common people. Lower level of education and income which are important social determinants of our nation’s health also severely affect health outcomes in rural areas as well as amongst the Muslim community”.
Mr. Sibal called upon the AMU students to play their due role “by coming forward and fulfilling the dreams of their founding father, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan by playing a lead role in serving their environment through poverty and illness elimination programmes”.
Mr. Sibal mentioned that the MHRD would respond to the planning of starting vocational training courses at B. Sc. level for health care by the Aligarh Muslim University, once the basic framework of this course is worked out by the University.
Mr. Kapil Sibal and Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad laying the founadation stone of PMSSY building at J. N. Medical College, AMU
The Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, Lt. General (Retd.) Zameer Uddin Shah pointed out that the J. N. Medical College, Dr. Ziauddin Ahmad Dental College and Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College have obsolete medical facilities and equipment and inadequate financial support.
He said that the fair name and reputation of AMU is at stake unless both Union Ministers initiated immediate resuscitation measures on our medical facilities. He urged both the Cabinet Ministers to provide a budgetary one time grant of Rs. Two hundred crores for modernization, repair and replacement of facilities and equipment at all the three medical establishments.
AMU Vice Chancellor urged them to increase the PG seats in the three institutions. He also requested for the establishment of a College for Paramedical Courses in AMU which will impart vocational training in paramedical courses.
General Shah also laid emphasis on the need for upgradation of J. N. Medical College by establishing a Cardiology Centre, cancer Care Centre and Critical Care Management Centre.
General Shah pointed out the most immediate problems are the directions of National Board of Examination to select entrants for MBBS to National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). He said that this would be highly undesirable and create massive unrest. He urged that AMU be exempted from NEET.
On the occasion, Prof. M. H. Beg, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Prof. M. Ashraf Malik, Principal and Chief Medical Superintendent, J. N. Medical College, prof. S. H. Hashmi, Principal, Dr. Z. A. Dental College and Prof. Saud Ali Khan, Principal, A. K. Tibbiya College also addressed the golden jubilee celebration ceremony and highlighted the major issues of their college. Dr. F. S. Sheerani conducted the programme.