Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Medical College

Region: Phoenix Country: Mauritius

Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Medical College, Mauritius
The Indian Ocean Medical Institute Trust (IOMIT) was established in 1996 with the avid objective of promotion of education and learning and setting up a medical college in Mauritius in the name of the 'Father of the Nation' late Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, who incidentally was a doctor also.

Mr. R.P.N.Singh, an educationist and social planner from India is the Founder Chairman and Managing Trustee of the Trust for Life.

Being the first medical college in Mauritius, the idea has been to setup & develop a campus of international standards, which would subsequently become the nerve center of medical education not only in the southern African region but in the whole of Indian Ocean Rim countries including Malaysia, India, Africa and the Gulf region. Mauritius with its stable democratic political system, vibrant and versatile culture, oriental attitude and occidental ambiance provides the right opportunity for this purpose. The land of sun, sand and shooting stars is fast emerging as a Knowledge Hub and center of medical education in the Indian Ocean Rim region.

The visionary Prime Minister of Mauritius could immediately foresee the long term value of such a medical campus for the country which would establish Mauritius as an education exporting country and brain service destination in the entire Indian Ocean Rim region and transform Mauritius 'from a land of leisure to a land of learning'.

The policy planners of the Government of Mauritius including the representatives of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education Science & Technology, Ministry of Economic Planning, International Trade and Development, Tertiary Education Commission, University of Mauritius and Chairman of the IOMIT deliberated together the modalities and setting up of the SSR Medical College in a Task Force under the Central Policy Analysis and Evaluation Unit, Prime Minister's Office, Government of Mauritius. It was agreed to set up the SSR Medical College affiliated to the University of Mauritius, which would award the Graduate and Post Graduate degrees.

The SSR Medical College is spread over about 25 acres of land provided by the Government with buildings covering an area of about 1,75,000 sq.ft. housing the Pre-clinical and the Para-clinical departments. The Ministry of Health and Quality of life has promised 'unflinching support' and provides state of the art J L Nehru, Victoria SSR and other specialty hospitals having more than 2000 beds for the clinical training of the students of the SSR Medical College.

The long cherished dream of our Chairman and like-minded people from India and Mauritius as well as the desire of the Mauritian people to have a medical college in Mauritius, has now become a reality with the active and avowed support of the Government and the people of Mauritius.

The Country:
Mauritius was made first and the paradise was copied after it Mark Twain the famous American wrote in his book Following the Equator.

This tiny paradise is located on the 20th parallel just north of the tropic of Capricorn, 1265 miles from the east coast of Africa, and about 2500 miles in the south west of the Indian coast. Passing through myriad vicissitudes, it was finally occupied by the British in 1810 after the Napoleonic wars. Mauritius achieved independence on 12th March, 1968 with Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam as its first Prime Minister and was proclaimed a republic on 12th March 1992. Mauritius today is universally acknowledged as being one of the most democratic and stable countries in the developing world.

From basically a mono-crop agricultural economy at the time of independence in 1968, today, Mauritius has achieved the status of a Newly Industrialised Country with a fairly stable population, almost zero unemployment, and per capita income of US $ 4500. The economy is based on sugar, manufacturing and tourism. It also belongs to the category of high Human Development Index countries. Mauritius today is picture of a thriving economy with proven democratic traditions.