Guwahati, Mar 10: The Assam government on Tuesday approved renaming Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital in Barpeta as Barpeta Medical College and Hospital, bringing it in line with the naming pattern of other state-run medical institutions.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced the decision following a cabinet meeting, stating that most government medical colleges in Assam such as those in Guwahati, Dhubri, Silchar, Bongaigaon, Biswanath, and Sonitpur carry names reflecting their locations.

“Something deviated in Barpeta’s case,” Sarma said at a press conference. “The current name often leads people to mistake it for a private college, causing confusion. We’ve now standardized it as Barpeta Medical College and Hospital.”

To honor former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Assam’s first head of state, the cabinet decided to name another educational or cultural institution of equal or greater prominence after him in the near future.

Established in 2011 and affiliated with Srimanta Sankardeva University of Health Sciences, the college has offered undergraduate courses since 2012 and postgraduate programs since 2019.