Guwahati: The Assam Cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal to rename Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital in Barpeta as Barpeta Medical College and Hospital.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced the decision while addressing a press conference after the Cabinet meeting.
He said most government medical colleges in Assam are named after the places where they are located, such as those in Guwahati, Dhubri, Silchar, Bongaigaon, Biswanath and Sonitpur. However, the Barpeta institution was named after former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, which does not follow the naming pattern adopted for other medical colleges in the state.
Sarma said the Cabinet decided to change the name to avoid confusion.
“Because of its name, many people often ask whether it is a private medical college. To remove such confusion, the Cabinet decided to rename it as Barpeta Medical College and Hospital,” he said.
The Chief Minister added that the government would name another institution after Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed in recognition of his stature.
“As Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was the President of India and the first from Assam to hold the office, the Cabinet has decided that another educational or cultural institution of equal or higher stature will be named after him,” he said.
Established in 2011, the medical college is affiliated with the Srimanta Sankardeva University of Health Sciences. It began offering undergraduate medical courses in 2012 and introduced postgraduate programmes in 2019.