Mysore Medical College gets autonomy status

Mysore, Jan 21 (UNI) Mysore Medical College, the oldest Medical Educational institution in Karnataka, has been accorded autonomy status by the State Government.

The College would be renamed as the Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MCC and RI).

Though the newly started Medical Colleges, including the Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences were granted autonomy status recently, the 73 year old Mysore Medical College had been waiting for the status for the past few years.

Principal Dr B C Vastrad told UNI that the order was received only three days back after recent visit of M N Vidyashankar Secretary Department of Information and Technology and Biotechnology and incharge of Medical Education along with Mr Ramananda Shetty Director, Medical Education.

A section of the medical community opposed the autonomy status for they feared that the Institute would lose its brand name and would be re-named as the Krishnarajendra Institute of Medical Sciences to pay homage to the Maharaja of Mysore Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodyer, who established the institute in Bangalore in 1924, however, they are happy that the brand name has retained despite granting of autonomy. When the Institute was shifted to Mysore in 1930 the medical officer of K R Hospital was appointed its principal, a new building was constructed and provided with equipment and furniture at a cost of Rs 2.85 lakhs by the government.

The number of seats was restricted to 30 initially and the duration of course was five and a half years with effect from June 1945, the number of seats increased to 50 in 1947 and later to 100.

A postgraduate diploma course in heart related diseases was started and hostel for women was set up in 1945. The autonomy would provide more freedom with regard to infrastructure and academic development of the institution. A Governing Council would be set up and it would comprise medical education secretary and the principal, who henceforth would be referred to as Dean or Director. It would be headed by the Minister for Medical Education, the K R Hospital attached the institution, would be upgraded soon with more facilities, he added.

UNI