S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali) SEPTEMBER 13: Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today called upon the Medical and Dental Colleges in the private sector to reserve 10-15% seats for the economically poor but bright students on the pattern of the recent decision taken by the Management of the Private Engineering and Technical Institutions in the state.
While inaugurating National Workshop on ‘Inter-Relationship of State Dental Councils & Dental Council of India’ here at auditorium of Punjab School Education Board, Mr. Badal said that it was our foremost duty to provide equal opportunities of education and learning thereby bridging the disparity between the rich and poor. He asked the Medical Education Minister Mr. Tikshan Sood who was also present on the occasion to device ways and means to implement the proposal with detailed deliberations with the management of the private medical and dental colleges to enable the poor and capable students to avail of this opportunity in the field of Medical Education.
The Chief Minister also urged the Dental Council of India (DCI) to start short-term courses in dentistry and oral hygiene in collaboration with Punjab Dental Council (PDC) in the state so that our youth could be gainfully employed.
Referring to the significance of the workshop, Mr. Badal said that Punjab was the first state in India to take a lead in launching the continuing dental education programme.
He said Medical education was an ongoing process and such workshops and conferences offered an ideal platform to the dentists and researchers to brush up their knowledge because one had to keep pace with the developments and advancements in the medical technology and education.
Speaking on the occasion Medical Education Minister Mr. Tikshan Sood emphasized the need to have a separate directorate of dental health services to ensure smooth functioning of the dental wing of the health department. He said that the workshop was aimed at improving the standards of dentistry at par with the dental education being provided internationally. He pointed out the SAD-BJP Government accorded the highest priority to the improvement of health services for providing quality health services to the people of the State and to achieve this target Medical Education was being revamped.
In his address President of the Dental Council of India Dr. Anil Kohli said that the Council would soon make provision of Continuation Dental Education Regulation(CDER) points mandatory as a pre-requisite for being registered and licensed to pursue the profession of dentistry in India. He said all the registered dental surgeons would now need to accomplish 100 points in five years (20 points of CDE per year). Out of these 20;4 CDE points per year would be mandatory and verifiable. He also clarified that the BDS Course had been restructured and would be of five years as earlier but now one year of internship has been included in the course and the fee structure would also be the same. He urged the Dentists to serve the people in the rural areas who were being fleeced by the quacks.
On the occasion Dr. Kohli presented a cheque of Rs. 10 lacs to towards Chief Minister’s relief fund.
The Chief Minister also gave away Scholarships Certificates to the meritorious Dental students from Punjab sponsored by Indian Dental Association.
Prominent among other who were present on the occasion included Secretary DCI Major General (Retd.) Dr. P.N Awasthi, Director Health Services Army Lt. Gen. Paramjit Singh, President Punjab Dental Council Dr. Vimal.K. Sikri, Registrar Chandigarh Dental Council Dr. M.S. Mann, Registrar Punjab Dental Council Dr. Rajesh Sharma, President Indian Dental Association Dr. Deepak Kamdar and Secretary Indian Dental Association Ashok Dhoble.