Medical College Reopening Date; Check latest updates

Medical Colleges were closed since March last year due to nationwide lockdown imposed by the Centre as part of safety measure amid COVID-19. Various states government have directed Medical Colleges to reopen now. Read the article to check Medical Colleges reopening dates.

With COVID-19 cases witnessing sharp decline and vaccination drive in full swing, most of the Medical Colleges across country are set to resume physical classes. Medical Colleges, closed since March last year following national lockdown amid corona outbreak, are reopening in sequential manner after an official order from Centre and respective state governments. Medical Colleges in some states have already resumed classes.

On November 25, 2020, the Centre had written to State government, asking them to restart session in Medical Colleges from December 1 or before. The Centre had directed that all the SOPs/guidelines with respect to social distancing must be followed upon. After the official order, some of the Colleges have reopened while others are making preparations to do so in next few months. Ever since corona pandemic broke out in March-end, medical students have been studying online while final year MBBS and PG students have been involved in COVID-19 management.

Reopening Medical Colleges: NMC raised concerns

Earlier, the National Medical Commission had also raised concerns about resuming classes for medical students as the delay will impact availability of doctors. In addition, it will be a missed opportunity for medical students to learn about epidemic management, NMC had contended. The new Medical Regulator stated the current batch of interns (2020) have not completed their required clinical training and unless they do it, they would not be eligible for appearing for the NEET PG 2021 exam. It also noted that the NEET PG 2021 exam for the academic year 2021-22 has been delayed as the eligible candidates will be completing their training late. Their training is required to be completed at the earliest so that the NEET PG 2021 exam for the academic year 2021-22 can be held accordingly, it said.

Medical College reopening date in Delhi

On January 6, 2021, the Delhi government had issued an official order, directing Medical Colleges to reopen with immediate effect. The order by the Health Ministry had the guidelines to reopen Medical Colleges in the national Capital. Physical classes will resume in phased manner for different academic batches, the order said. Initially the first year MBBS/BDS batch will be called in a staggered manner, followed by final year and second-year batch, the order stated.

Medical College reopening date in Haryana

The government of Haryna allowed to reopen Medical Colleges of the State from December 7, 2020 onwards. An official notification was released by the Directorate of Medical Education and Research, Haryana in this regard, directing Medical Colleges to reopen with a set of guidelines. Medical students were directed to carry their COVID-19-negative report not to be older than 72 hours before they come to college.

Medical College reopening date in Himachal Pradesh

An official order stated that Medical Colleges in the State will be reopening from December 1, 2020. Himachal Pradesh Health Secretary Amitabh Avasthi said only those students tested negative for Covid-19 will be able to attend classes. In the first phase, only the students of first and last year of MBBS/BDS courses will be allowed. Each student will have to submit written consent from parents before coming to college, the order stated.

Medical College reopening date in Rajasthan

An official announcement stated that all Medical Colleges across the State would be allowed to reopen from January 11, 2021. The official release from CMO also stated that all educational institutions including schools, colleges, and coaching centres will reopen from January 18, 2021.

Medical College reopening date in Punjab

The Punjab government on November 5, 2020, decided to reopen colleges and universities, falling outside containment zones. As per the spokesperson of the government, all higher education, medical education and research and technical education institutions, including all universities and colleges, in areas outside containment zones in the state, would be allowed to re-open from November 16. He also informed that educational institutes were directed to strictly follow standard operating procedures. In an another official order, the State government released guidelines to reopen colleges and universities from January 21, 2021 onwards.

Medical College reopening date in Gujarat

The State government decided to resume classes for postgraduate, medical, and paramedical courses along with the final year of undergraduate courses, PhD, and MPhil from January 11, 2021. In an another order, the government decided to reopen the first year of colleges from February 8 along with hostel accommodation for students. The Principal Secretary Education Anju Sharma said that a decision on second-year courses will be taken after considering the feedback and experiences from final year and first-year students.

Medical College reopening date in Uttar Pradesh

All degree colleges, state, private universities and other educational institutions of higher learning reopened from February 15, 2021. All educational institutes were asked to adher to COVID-19 guidelines. In November last year, the state government had allowed universities and degree colleges to resume classes with condition. As per the rule, only 50% of the students will be allowed to attend at a time on a roster basis.

Medical College reopening date in Bihar

After being shut down for 11 months amid corona outbreak, colleges and universities in Bihar reopened on February 17, 2021. A list of safety protocols has also been issued to all the higher educational institutes for the safe resumption of classes in the state. The Government had resumed the classes for students of final year undergraduate and postgraduate courses, following the success of which, it was decided to reopen the colleges for the rest of the students. Earlier in December, the state government had asked all the Medical Colleges to initiate the process of starting classes following Centre’s official order on the same. State health department additional secretary Kaushal Kishore had written to Principals of Medical Colleges to follow guidelines issued by Union Health Ministry.

Medical College reopening date in Maharashtra

All Colleges and Universities across Maharashtra will be allowed to reopen from February 15, 2021 announced Uday Samant, Higher and Technical Education Minister of Maharashtra recently. It is not clear whether Medical Colleges will also be reopened from the said date. The Minister said the Colleges and Universities will be allowed with 50 percent capacity. The rule of 75 percent minimum attendance will also be waived off for 2020-21 academic session amid COVID-19 as students couldn’t attend classes. The Colleges will have to follow all guidelines and protocols. Students will have to wear face mask and maintain social distancing. Meanwhile the latest reports says that number of cases have started rising again in some parts and the state government is planning to reimpose lockdown.

Medical College reopening date in Odisha

All the Medical Colleges of the state were reopened from December 1, 2020. They were closed for UG classroom teaching, tutorials, practical classes, laboratory and clinical training due to Covid-19 pandemic. COVID-19 safety procedures will have to be followed on campus, the government order said.

Medical College reopening date in Tamil Nadu

The State government decided to reopen medical undergraduate and postgraduate colleges in the state from December 7, 2020. The degree colleges in Tamil Nadu were also permitted to resume classes for final year students enrolled in undergraduate programmes. Earlier, the state had given permission to postgraduate colleges to resume classes for final year students.

Medical Colleges reopening date in Karnataka

The state government made announcement to reopen all the medical and paramedical colleges in the state from December 1, 2020. Apart from all the medical colleges in Karnataka, all dental, AYUSH, paramedical, nursing and pharmacy colleges in the state were asked to resume classes. The degree, diploma, and engineering colleges were reopened from November 17, 2021 for regular classes.