KHAMMAM: The NTR University of Health Sciences will focus more of its attention on strengthening the research oriented programmes, which had lost continuity in the State, said A.V. Krishnam Raju, Vice-Chancellor on Friday.

Addressing the combined graduation ceremony of the Mamata Medical College, Mamata Dental College and Mamata College of Nursing here, he said the post doctoral research in medical education would not only help the professionals career wise but enable the university keep pace with development in modern medicine.

He said the university was in need of an academic campus for taking up the research programmes and teachers training in a big way. The issue was already taken up with Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, who in fact wanted to acquire 100 acres for the purpose. In a city like Vijayawada, it was found to be difficult to have such a large academic campus. At least 25 to 50 acres would be sufficient for expansion of the campus at this juncture and some land available with the ESI hospital should be considered for the purpose.

Prof. Krishnam Raju said two more medical colleges were likely to come up in the government sector in the State. The government medical college at Ongole was expected to be ready to take admissions in 2009-10.
 The Government Intends to have one more medical college in Hyderabad. He said semi-autonomous colleges were successful in overcoming the problems in faculty appointments. The medical colleges, including those set up at Srikakulam and Cuddapah, because of their semi-autonomous status, were able to pay well on par with the private medical colleges. He said the university was looking into every complaint pertaining to collection of abnormal amounts in certain colleges. Such practices would attract action. Steps were being taken to ensure that no student was meted out a raw deal in the evaluation process. Even the academic schedule of the university has been streamlined sufficiently. Presenting the certificates to some 26 post graduates, 146 graduates of Mamata Medical College and 121 students passed out from the dental college, the Vice-Chancellor said the profession was sacred and every one of those coming out of the institution was expected to follow the ethics of the profession. Puvvada Ajay Kumar, president of the Mamata Educational Society, said in his address that the graduation ceremony which coincided with the annual day this time, would here after be annual feature. He said the medical college could have some 10 lakh square feet of space of its own in just 11 years of its establishment. The college had created infrastructure and provided facilities to students at a cost of Rs. 50 crores during the past few years. Dr. K. Koteswar Rao, principal of the medical college, Dr. S.M. Nooruddin, principal of the dental college, and I. V. Mamata, Principal of the College of Nursing were present at the meeting.