Dental students demand reverting to four-year course plus internship

Updated on: Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Over 4, 000 dental college students across the country have signed an application demanding that the five-year long BDS course be converted to a four-year course plus a year’s internship – as it used to be until 2007. Students representatives from Government Dental College, Mumbai, submitted the signed application to Dr Dibyendu Mazumder, president, Dental Council of India (DCI), on Thursday. Mazumder has assured the students that their demands will be looked into.

The students are of the view that the new structure limited their practical knowledge. “Our seniors said that the internship helped them form a strong base. Ours will be the first batch to be affected by the new structure, so we decided to launch a campaign,” said Anjul Agarwal, a third year BDS student. Agarwal and his batch mates then got in touch with similar-thinking students from across the country, resulting in students of 31 colleges from 10 states joining the campaign.

“Reforms are needed in any education system. The course was changed for the betterment of students and to accommodate more subjects. But the students know best what’s suitable for them. We are considering their application and will try to work out something by July,” Mazumder said. A Facebook page on “Corruption in dental education” has also been extremely popular with students and dentists nationwide. With over 5, 568 members, it highlights corruption in allotting under graduate and post-graduate seats in dental colleges and how authorities mint money.

Dental students demand reverting to four-year course plus internship

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