'Will try to address teething troubles'

Says new Dental Council of India chief while promising to address pending issues

Says new Dental Council of India chief while promising to address pending issues

Dr Debyendu Majumdar

The Dental Council of India (DCI) recently elected its new president Dr Debyendu Majumdar. In an exclusive interview with MiD DAY, Dr Majumdar, who is also the principal of Dr R Ahmed Dental College and Hospital in Kolkata, talked about his priority to get duration of BDS course reduced and also to restore the image of the Council that was tarnished by the cases of corruption during the tenure of the previous president.

What will your priorities be as the President of the Council?
For now, my foremost priority is to look after the academic issues of the dental students. In 2007, a gazette notification mentioned that the Bachelor for Dental Surgery (BDS) course should be of five years after which the students will go for an internship. But, I will definitely try to change this rule. We will conduct workshops with the students, faculty members and other departments of the colleges where we will discuss the reduction of the course from five to four years followed by one year internship. The bright side of this long duration course at present is that students get a stipend during their internship.

The Dental Colleges demand hefty fee from the students at the time of admissions to the post-graduate courses. How do you intend to curtail this practise?
I have heard about this admission fee issue. However, the fact is that every state has set up a faculty that looks after such issues. This issue is not in the hands of DCI, it needs to be addressed by the government. But I will try to take up this matter with the government.

Do you plan to introduce common entrance tests for the graduate and post- graduate courses in Dental courses just like in MBBS?
No, we don't have any such plans yet for the common entrance test.

The last president had been charged with the corruption, which severely dented the image of the Council. How do you plan to set things right on this front?
The past is gone and I believe in future. I trust in three things --- honesty, transparency and modesty and if we stick to them, we will definitely be able to clear the negative impressions prevailing against DCI. Of course, I will need support from all the students and fellow members and I am sure they will help me.

Vital stats
There are 289 dental colleges in India of which 204 are recognised by DCI. Of the total colleges, 249 are in private sector and 40 in the government sector. Out of the 204 colleges, 148 colleges are offering Master in Dental Surgery (MDS) courses in various disciplines. Only three dental colleges are offering PG Diploma in various disciplines with an annual intake of 34 seats and only two dental colleges are offering PG diploma course in dental material with six seats.