Shillong Medical College to begin first academic session in September

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaSeptember 3, 2025

The Shillong Medical College (SMC), Meghalaya’s first government medical college, is set to begin its academic session by the last week of September after receiving approval and the Letter of Permission (LOP) from the National Medical Commission (NMC).

Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said on Wednesday, “Today is a joyful day for the department of health and the government of Meghalaya as the NMC has approved SMC to start functioning from the 2025-26 session with an intake of 50 students.”

She informed that the second round of MBBS counseling will begin on September 26. “Candidates who qualify through NEET and wish to apply for these seats may do so as per the government’s sanction alongside SMC’s counseling process,” she added.

With this, Meghalaya now has 144 MBBS seats—50 at SMC and 94 allotted to institutions outside the state, including NEIGRIHMS and RIIMS.

The annual fee has been fixed at Rs 30,000, inclusive of hostel facilities. “We have kept it at a highly subsidized rate,” Lyngdoh said, adding that the college will help address the acute shortage of doctors in government facilities.

SMC, a brownfield project, will use Shillong Civil Hospital and Ganesh Das Hospital as teaching hospitals, avoiding the need for new infrastructure. Specialization courses are planned for the future to support career progression for doctors in government service.

Lyngdoh acknowledged faculty shortages, with only 8 of 16 professors, 17 of 20 associate professors, 21 of 23 senior residents, and 12 of 15 tutors in place. However, all 25 assistant professors have been appointed. She attributed the shortfall to the difficulty of attracting senior faculty to Meghalaya, stressing the need for competitive pay and facilities.

Dr. Nicola Gracyl Lyngdoh Iangrai, an ENT surgeon from RIIMS, has been appointed director of SMC. She expressed her commitment to serving the state and ensuring the success of the college.

The minister also clarified that Tura Medical College is a separate greenfield project requiring new infrastructure, unlike SMC’s brownfield model.