At the 21st annual convocation of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) on Tuesday, gold medallists criticised the State government’s decision to hike the fees for postgraduate medical and dental courses. Fees for government and institutional quota seats in private colleges will be increased by 15% while seats in government colleges will now cost five times more. This will come into effect for the 2019-20 academic year.
Vallish Shenoy, an MBBS graduate from AJ Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangaluru, who bagged seven gold medals and one cash prize, said that the move is not in the interest of students from weak economic backgrounds. “The government must think of measures, such as providing scholarships to deserving students, before hiking fees,” he said.
Another gold medallist Sheetal S.N., who did her MBBS from Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, said that many of her batch-mates would not be able to afford the fees for postgraduate courses. “The stipend for PG medical students here is one of the lowest compared to other States, and it will be difficult for students to make ends meet,” she said.
This year, too, students were divided over the one-year rural service after completion of the course. While some said that they would pay a penalty to forgo their rural service, others said that they would complete it and serve people in villages.
Gold medallist Samanvitha H., who wants to pay the penalty and opt out of the service, said she wanted to pursue her MD as she does not want to interrupt her academics. “I may consider doing this after my MD,” she said.
‘Introduce a dual doctoral degree programme’
Scientist and Bharat Ratna awardee C.N.R. Rao, who delivered the convocation address, urged RGUHS to introduce an MD-PhD programme in medicine. The dual doctoral degree programme will help combine the vocational training of the Doctor of Medicine degree along with the research expertise of the Doctor of Philosophy degree, he said.
“The varsity could be the first in the country to introduce the programme. It will also be helpful if MBBS students are given an orientation in biology and chemistry for the first few months,” said Dr. Rao, who underscored the need for interdependence of science and medicine, as well as doctors and engineers.
