The Dental Council of India has written to Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University giving it the power to prescribe higher standards for dental education in the State.
In a communiqué to the Registrar of the varsity, the DCI clarified that the “eligibility criteria and other provisions prescribing admission, examination, syllabus, curriculum, etc in course regulations framed by DCI are bare minimum.”
It further went on to specify that if the State government, or affiliating university desire to prescribe higher standards than that of the regulations in order to maintain a higher standard of dental education in the state, they are free to prescribe the same. Only, these provisions are not to be inconsistent with the provisions of the Dentist Act and Regulations made under that.
The varsity had petitioned the Council to permit it to enhance the standards of examinations and evaluation in the BDS course above those prescribed by the DCI. The plea was considered by the executive committee of the DCI in its meeting held on January 18 and 19, New Delhi, and the resolution was passed.
There has been widespread criticism of the varsity's move to up the pass marks in the MBBS and BDS courses throughout the state. The first year exams for MBBS/BDS students are slated to begin on Wednesday.
“The communiqué from DCI establishes the supremacy of the university in establishing higher standards in syllabus, curriculum, and teaching methods. This is a victory for the medical university,” its Vice Chancellor Mayilvahanan Natarajan told The Hindu on Monday night.
Meanwhile, the Doctors' Association for Social Equality has urged the varsity to postpone the examinations until the High Court verdict is out.
