Over six decades ago, when education in India was largely government-aided and delivered through archaic institutions modelled around the British academic system, one man set on a mission to change this forever.
Thus started Kasturba Medical College, the first private medical college in the voluntary sector. Dr TMA Pai founded it in 1953.
Starting with only a pre-clinical section, it became a full-fledged independent college by 1969. It has consistently been ranked among the top ten medical schools in the country and has deservingly anchored its supremacy with cutting edge research, quality of academic input and world-class infrastructure.
Set in an idyllic setting on a hilltop, KMC boasts of a multi-cultural mix of students, faculty and alumni. The 200-acre lush green campus provides one of the finest spots for medical study in South Asia. The Health Sciences Library and the Anatomy and Pathology museums of KMC are the largest of their kind in Asia.
Besides affiliation to the Manipal University and recognition by the Medical Council of India, international recognitions have come from the General Medical Council of Great Britain and the Malaysian Medical Council. Students at KMC come from as many as 44 countries including the likes of UK, Ireland, USA and West Asia. Various student exchange programmes with leading educational brands worldwide have also helped KMC attract academically superior students from these partner institutes. KMC has exchange programmes with Loma Linda University, USA; Operation Eyesight Universal, Canada; Tayside University, Dundee, UK; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA; and Maastricht University of Holland.
KMC offers an under-graduate MBBS degree programme and a range of post-graduate diploma and degree programmes with specialisation options in General Medicine, General Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Orthopedics, Ophthalmology, E.N.T, Anesthesiology among other streams. It also offers various certificate and fellowship programmes. Every year it admits around 400 students.
To incentivise academic excellence, KMC offers various scholarships at the time of admission and later. The Manipal University grants a 100 per cent scholarship to students who list in the top 500 in its entrance examination. Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Mumbai, offers scholarships to the top 30 meritorious MBBS students, based on their academic results at the end of the first year.
Dr Pradeep Kumar G, the former head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at KMC and the newly designated Dean, says, “KMC has already made a mark in the world of medical research. Our faculty members, research scholars and post-graduate students have regularly contributed to some of the best known medical journals across the world, stamping our claim as one of the top medical schools in Asia.”
Some of the world’s top ranked medical journals, for instance the British Journal of Ophthalmology, British Medical Journal and the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, have featured literature from KMC faculty and students.
KMC bolsters India’s claim as a favoured academic and research destination for medical students from around the globe.
