Students of two veterinary colleges face uncertain future

VCI has withheld recognition for the colleges for the last five years42 surgeons graduated from the Hassan and Shimoga colleges are being denied employment

As many as 42 veterinary surgeons from government veterinary colleges in Hassan and Shimoga are being denied employment even as about 376 students who are on the rolls of these colleges continue to face an uncertain future.

The Veterinary Council of India (VCI) has withheld recognition for both the colleges for the last five years.

Both the colleges have not received recognition for lack of adequate infrastructure, and the degree certificates issued by the Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Science University (KVAFSU), Bidar, are not valid.

The government set up these colleges in 2007 to address the issue of shortage of veterinary surgeons in the State. Forty-two students passed out from both the colleges last year. But they are not eligible to conduct private practice and apply for government jobs without certificates and registration number issued by the VCI, officials in the Animal Husbandry Department told

The Hindu .

Twenty-three students of the first batch of the Hassan college and 19 of the Shimoga college completed the course in 2012. As the colleges have no recognition, the graduates have not been able to register with the VCI, which is mandatory for beginning practice, going for higher studies, and for applying for a government job.

Reasons

Currently, 184 students are studying in the Hassan college and 192 in the Shimoga college. The VCI did not give recognition to the colleges due to lack of buildings, laboratories, hostels and adequate number of teaching faculty during the previous years.

The colleges now have buildings and adequate number of teaching faculty, claimed deans of both the colleges.

The VCI team, during its earlier visit, had denied recognition to the colleges, forcing the authorities not to admit students for the academic year 2008-09.

The VCI had insisted that the colleges should have buildings, faculty members, hospital and livestock.

The government spent Rs. 68 crore to construct the college buildings. The Hassan and Shimoga colleges have teaching faculty of 50 and 49 members respectively.

“I am hopeful that our college will get recognition soon,” said the dean of the Hassan college.

More than 5,000 candidates apply every year for the 240 seats in the four veterinary colleges in the State — Bangalore, Bidar, Hassan and Shimoga. Admission is done through a common entrance test.