Andhra Medical College (AMC) – with only 32 students on July 19, 1923- has achieved a lot over the past one hundred years. A century later, the college admits 250 undergraduate (MBBS) and 368 postgraduate students in several specialties. Due to this, the services of the college are booked one year in advance. The eighty-third salient date marker for the Andhra Medical College came on July 19 last year.
The alumni of Andhra Medical College are around the world and many of them have and still hold very high-ranking offices in this country and abroad. Many of them have relocated to different parts of the USA and established the AMC Association of North America AMCANA.
‘The Centenary Alumni Block CAB’ under construction at an expenditure of 30 crore rupees, is being raised solely by the alumni of AMC and is likely to be finished in a span of three to four months. The CAB will house an auditorium with a capacity of 650, a ‘Hall of History’, ‘Legends of AMC’, and a library for the students among other things.
“An additional block of 200 rooms is being built at the AMC Men’s Hostel, catering to the needs of male PG students. ₹150 crore has been sanctioned for the women’s hostel also. The skill lab which was built in the college with the aid of central government at the cost of ₹2.50 crore was also inaugurated not so long ago. All these have been taken up as a part of the centary celebrations in the past two years,” says G. Butchi Raju, principal of the college, Additional Director of Medical Education.
Formation
Taking into consideration the demands of the Telugu speaking people the erstwhile Madras Government setup the Vizagapatam Medical College in 1923. Medical college was inaugurated on 1st July 1923 in the lease building constructed originally for the Medical School.
The Anatomy Block now stands at is this place of former structures of General Hospital Medical College. This Medical School was built by Gode Chitti Janakayyamma a local zamindar Gode Narayan Gajapathi Rao’s wife. The laying of the foundation stone was done on february 20,1905 which was presided over by the governor of Madras and the building was completed in 1909-10.
The building had a short and ill-fated history, which has a story of its own. But this building by virtue of historical necessity was the cradle of all the three Nursing Institutions that were established in Vizag— the Nursing School, Civil Hospital (King George’s Hospital) and College of Nursing (Andhra College of Nursing). The building remained vacant for several years after it was built.
In fact, it was functioning as a Medical School initially. Thereafter, it was momentarily occupied as a Civil Hospital, when the older dispensary houses collapsed and new buildings for the Civil Hospital were being erected. After the Civil Hospital shifted to its new premises in April 1923, Vijjeswarapu Edward Paul, a member of INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art culture and Heritage) and historian of the city says the Medical College started in this old Medical School building in July 1923.
The College was opened with the presence of Diwan Bahadur Raja Panuganti Ramarayaninga, Minister for local self government with notices and boards on the new Civil Hospital consisting of 270 beds and developing into King George Hospital which was utilized for clinical lessons for the students. The Government of Madras set the admission limits to a total of 50 students and students from Telugu districts were given priority.
Populate editable text within the constraints of a reasonable length. Since the college was launched with the aim of helping students, especially from the Telugu speaking districts, it was noted that out of 156 students, 32 were actually from outside the Telugu speaking districts and conversely a few have been taken at Madras Medical College from Telugu speaking districts.
The year 1926 -1927 has tremendous support from the Medical College to the extent of completion of the construction work except for supply of water and electrical installations. The fifth and final year class was initiated in July, 1927. It was during that year that the college was fully affiliated to the Andhra University. The first batch of standing medical students graduated in 1928.
There was also a decision by the government that there will be a single selection committee to select candidates for both the medical colleges in Madras and Vizagapatam from the same list of candidates.
There was a development of a hostel building for 48 male pupils which was in between the hospital ad the college and was occupied in the year 1930-31. This building was later used as a women’s hostel after the construction of a separate for men’s hostel, which was at the back of the Collector’s office. Each male used to pay 3 rupees on hostel rents and rupees eighteen as of mess- bill at the year 1938 affiliated reports cheaper.
It came to the notice of the Vice-Chancellor Sir C.R. Reddy in the year 1936 that there were no women students in the Medical college. Also, she \she recommended the construction of women students Hostels. They took up the construction of a new outpatient department in the King George Hospital, Vizagapatam, which was one of the improvements insisted on by the Medical Council of India. The Indian Medical Council agreed to the temporary grant of degree of registration for two years from 1st December, 1938 to Andhra University students medical degrees.
In the year 1936, D. C. R. Reddy vice chancellor of Andhra university moved a request to the authorities to change the name of Vizagapatam Medical College to Andhra Medical College. The government approved his request and because of the Gazette notification in on 29th February 1940, the name was changed in Andhra Medical College.
