Andaman and Nicobar to have medical college by 2015

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands will soon have a medical college that would train future doctors and cater to the needs of the people, the Lt. Governor said here Saturday.

"While we have very good facilities at the GB Pant Hospital, the problem is that we are acutely short of doctors, whether general or specialists. So we are planning to come up with a medical college attached to the hospital," Andaman and Nicobar Lt Governor Lt. Gen. (Retd.) A.K. Singh said during a media interaction.

"We are hopeful of starting the college on a temporary basis initially by 2015 and gradually developing it into a full-fledged institution which will not only produce doctors but also enable people here to train and serve the people," he said.

He said experts will be consulted over setting up the medical college but refused to divulge details about investment.

The 412-bedded GB Pant Hospital in Port Blair, the lone hospital in the union territory with specialized services in various fields, receives an average of 1,200 OPD patients daily.

Singh also said an arts and science college too will be set up soon.

"Right now, we have only four colleges and there is a huge gap between the availability of colleges and students passing out of schools. Education is one of the key areas of focus and we are progressing steadily," he added.