A new syllabus and fellowship programmes needed to be created for post-graduates in dentistry courses, said S. Ramananda Shetty, Vice-Chancellor, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka, here on Saturday.
Speaking at a national convention of Indian Academy of Oral Medicine and Radiology (IAOMR) for post-graduate students, Dr. Shetty said the syllabus for the post-graduate course in dentistry was designed in the 1960s.
With the changing times and advancements in medical field, the time for framing a new syllabus had come. Similarly, new fellowship programmes should be formulated for the benefit of post-graduate students, he said. As far as post-graduate courses were concerned, both teachers and students should learn together. Teachers can create new knowledge only when they work in coordination with the students.
Similarly, more importance should be given to research work and teachers in dentistry should guide their students towards therapy side, which was the need of the hour, Dr. Shetty added.
In his inaugural address, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting S. Jagathratchagan said dental radiology was a highly a specialised subject for which there were not many lecturers. A recent study by scientists in the U.S. revealed that the mouth and teeth caused many diseases in humans.
D.B. Gandhi Babu, president, IAOMR; Sri Nisha, chairman, Sree Balaji Medical and Dental Colleges; and P. Vimalkumar, organising secretary of IAOMR. were among those who participated.
