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New tonic for medical education The government is working on a proposal to update and modernise medical education in the country on the lines of courses and curricula being followed by medical colleges in developed countries like the USA and the UK.
Women’s studies on fast-track to popularity
The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, running 902 schools in the country, is to open five Zonal Institutes of Education and Training to cater to the training needs of the sangathan. While two of these institutes, at Mumbai and Gwalior, are already functioning, the remaining are to be opened at Chandigarh, Kolkata and Mysore.
Campus Scene
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New tonic for medical education
In addition to this, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare also envisages making medical education in medical colleges more practical-training oriented to enable students to get hands-on experience, while doing MBBS. Besides this, the ministry also wants to inculcate ancient Indian systems of medicine into the modern medical education and appoint at least one doctor practicing Indian system of medicine in the 23,000 primary health centres across the country. Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramdoss told The Tribune that his ministry envisaged updating the curricula of medical colleges and making it more modern to bring it on a par with medical education in developed countries. “As much as 70 per cent of what is taught in Indian medical colleges is not put to use when a doctor actually starts practicing. To top it all, less focus on practical training results in doctors at times not even knowing how to diagnose common ailments like osteoporosis and diabetes,” he said. Dr Ramdoss said the ministry with the help of bodies like the Indian Medical Association (IMA), the Medical Council of India (MCI) and medical professionals would work on amendments in the curricula being followed in medical colleges in the country for the past several decades. “My own experience says that quite a lot of what I studied while doing MBBS was not put to practical use when I started practicing medicine. Minimally invasive surgery should be made an essential part of medical education,” he added. There are as many as 122 government and 107 private medical colleges in the country, of which nearly 18,000 students graduate every year. Of them, two-third is from government colleges and the rest from private medical colleges. He said there was a pilot project going on in an institute in West Bengal where changes have been made in the course curriculum in this regard. “The modern medicine system does not say anything about the fantastic ancient systems of medicine that have been part of our culture for hundreds of years. In several parts of country these systems have become an essential part of the lifestyle. There is also a cure for hepatitis-A in our ancient system. Yoga has become so popular that most cardiologists are advocating it. Ayurvedic spas are popular the world over, which is why it has become increasingly important that it is made part of our modern medical education,” he added.
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Women’s studies on fast-track to popularity
The Centre for Women’s Studies and Development, Panjab University, Chandigarh, is one of the first five such centres established by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 1987. Situated in Arts Block–VI, near Gandhi Bhavan, it is the first of its kind in north India. A lot of research has been undertaken here, especially in the past one year. Dr Aruna Goel, Director of this centre, who is also a member of the UGC and convener of the standing committee for about 40 women’s study centres, has ambitious plans for this centre.
Dr Aruna Goel, who believes in the empowerment of women, has held seminars and lectures to facilitate women’s participation within and outside the region. Besides her research on women empowerment, her three books add to her effort to get more students to join the centre. Dr Goel says: “We offer postgraduate diploma, M.Phil and Ph.D in women’s studies. Our library is well stocked and, in the coming session, we are going to introduce a postgraduate course in the subject.” “We also hold training programmes for the women municipal councillors of Punjab who are ignorant about their responsibilities as representatives of the people. The last seminar on Violence Against Women in Punjab, held in February, was a huge success. There are vast career opportunities after doing this course from this centre.” “Students can even join here as teachers after doing this course. I am trying to introduce this subject even at the undergraduate level, so that there are vacancies in colleges, too. Many of the NGOs happily absorb students who graduate from here. Women’s empowerment in all fields, social, political and economic, is an avenue where many NGO’s at the state, national and international level are working. The graduates can counsel on women’s issues and find employment in the social welfare boards or state women’s commissions. There is no dearth of opportunities.” The utility of this course can be gauged from its popularity. Dr Goel and her team offer counselling to women regarding family funds as well. Dr Goel is involved with the Punjab State Resource Centre for Women, Chandigarh, under the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The police also depends upon advice from the centre. The centre also gets requests from colleges in the region for gender sensitisation programmes and similar requests keep coming from the British Council and the National Institute of Public Co-operation and Child Development. The career opportunities in this field are not only many, but also fulfilling. You are part of a social movement that takes women as an integral and important part of the social set-up. Isn’t that enough reason for joining? |
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KVs shape up for future
The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, running 902 schools in the country, is to open five Zonal Institutes of Education and Training to cater to the training needs of the sangathan. While two of these institutes, at Mumbai and Gwalior, are already functioning, the remaining are to be opened at Chandigarh, Kolkata and Mysore.
Teacher training programmes would be conducted in these institutes. The Minister for Human Resource Development is ex-officio Chairman of the sangathan. The KVS has also introduced pre-primary education in Kendriya Vidyalayas on a self-financing basis, wherever infrastructure is available. Children who have turned four on April 1 are given admission. The sangathan is funded from the non-plan funds of the Union Government. However, some funds are allotted under the plan head also. The sangathan constructs buildings, staff quarters, etc, for its vidyalayas established under civil and defence sectors. Out of 902 vidyalayas (including 131 project KVs), 657 are functioning in their permanent buildings and the construction work is on for 87. The provision of infrastructure and basic amenities is a continuous process and the fruits of the endeavours towards academic excellence are reflected in the brilliant performance of the KV students in the class X and class XII examinations. The sangathan has decided to computerise all KV offices by the end of this academic year. A programme developed by the zonal Institute of Education and Training, Mumbai, has been sent to all schools and regional offices for implementation. Most of the Kendriya Vidyalayas have been given at least five computers each with necessary software. All students from Class III onwards are being covered under the computer education programme. The KVS has six technology training laboratories in Delhi, Chennai, Bhopal, Bangalore and Kolkata under the aegis of Intel. A website (www.kvsangathan.org) has also been launched and 31 schools have been identified to be developed as smart schools to foster skills among students to prepare them for the challenges of the 21st century. A special drive for strengthening sport and arts has been initiated by engaging private coaches and artists. The KVS also encourages students to participate in adventure activities. |
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Campus Scene
Despite strong objections by members, meetings of the executive council of Maharshi Dayanand University continue to be few and far between. The last meeting was held after more than four months, despite the MDU Act saying that the EC should meet frequently and the gap between two meetings should not be more than two months, except during summer vacations.
The delay not only piles up agenda items, making it impossible for the members to apply their mind to important issues, but also affords the Vice-Chancellor undue opportunities to use his emergency powers under Section 9A (5). Most of the time, decisions taken under this section are meant to dole out favours to influential persons. Senior EC members say every VC has misused these powers in the past and the EC has several times passed resolutions urging the VC to use these powers to the minimum possible extent. In the last meeting, several members raised this issue and challenged the powers of the VC to alter rules under these powers. They also threatened to move court, if the VC did not curb use of emergency powers. The bulky agenda for the last meeting had about 90 items . It was circulated only a few days before the meeting. The MDU Teachers Association was forced to approach the Chancellor for getting the meeting postponed to allow members more time to study the important issues. Judging khap panchayats
The Department of Sociology hosted a two-day seminar on Khap Panchayat: Its Challenges and Prospects. In her keynote address, Dr Prem Chaudhary, Fellow, Nehru Memorial, New Delhi, urged khap panchayats to take up reformist agenda rather than trying to emerge as a parallel power structure in society. She said these panchayats had been acting as extra-judicial authority leading to social tensions, and the police and the political leadership were silent spectators to the reprehensible actions of these panchayats. Dr D. R. Chaudhary said it was unfortunate that these social institutions had failed to change with the times. The khap leaders had developed a narrow vision and mindset, which he said was a social menace. He said women had no say or role to play in these panchayats. Dr K.S. Sangwan, Professor and Head, Department of Sociology, said the seminar had been arranged to provide all concerned with a platform to review the role of these panchayats. Master stroke mends heart
An artificial valve and polyester tube were grafted into the heart of a patient through complex cardiac surgery for the first time in Haryana at the local Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences affiliated to the MDU. The patient, Surinder Singh (34), had a damaged heart and the aorta, too, was severely damaged due to a disease of the connective tissue. The condition is technically known as the Marfan Syndrome. A team of doctors led by Dr S.S. Lochab, head, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, operated upon the patient as an emergency. The other team members were: Dr Vishal Dheer, Dr Kuldeep Laller and Dr Shashi Kiran. The surgery lasted six hours.
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The government is working on a proposal to update and modernise medical education in the country on the lines of courses and curricula being followed by medical colleges in developed countries like the USA and the UK.