How DCI keeps up the standards

The Dental Council of India (DCI) keeps a strict watch on quality of dental paramedical programmes

The Dental Council of India (DCI) keeps a strict watch on quality of dental paramedical programmes

HT Image

While educational ­programmes for ­paramedics are largely unregulated in the country, it is only the DCI, a ­statutory body ­responsible for ­maintenance of uniform ­standards of ­dental ­education, which has come up with a number of courses, ­faculty ­training and teaching ­methodologies as part of dental paramedical studies. At present there are three courses – dental hygienist, dental mechanic and dental operation room assistant, which DCI has recognised.

“Only dental colleges ­recognised by DCI can run these three courses because we believe students doing ­paramedical ­programmes need training and faculty at par with with students of dentistry. Colleges recognised by DCI have good faculty and infrastructure,” says Mahesh Verma, member DCI and ­principal of Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences.

“However, I am also aware that some of the ­private ­institutes in Delhi and other states are ­offering ­various ­dental paramedical courses under the vocational training category, which are completely illegal. DCI does not recognise such institutes and students should be aware of this,” adds Verma.

Verma says that DCI is in sync with the changes in the field of dentistry and keeps devising and introducing new courses in dental paramedics. The ­council introduced dental operation room assistant ­programme just two years ago. Like DCI, very few state governments, Madhya Pradesh for instance, have acts in place to regulate general paramedical courses.

Issue at hand
* Paramedics assist doctors in performing their duties. They are professionals working in both clinical and non-clinical categories

* Medical lab technology, clinical microbiology, medical radiology, medical nursing assistant, operation theatre technology, medical x-ray technology etc are popular paramedical courses

* No regulatory authority for paramedical courses exists at the national level

* Medical Council of India is a statutory body for ­medical education. The Indian Nursing Council is a national regulatory body for nurses and nurse education. Similarly, pharmacy education and profession in India up to the graduate level is regulated by the Pharmacy Council of India