The Dental College of India’s bid to bring complete transparency in the dental education system has fallen flat with a majority of dental colleges not even bothering to implement its two-year-old order directing them to host a website with details of all the facilities of their campus.
The DCI has now decided to crack the whip on errant colleges in the benefit of the aspiring dental students who many times due to lack of appropriate information are cheated or shell out money in travelling to the institutes.
“We have given them some more time and will then decide further course of action against the defaulters,” said a DCI member. There are over 260 dental colleges across the States which are yet to either create their own website or are not updating the information on the internet, as per desired by the DCI.
The member noted that the order asking them to host a website giving all details from name of teachers and students to facilities being provided by the colleges was issued in September 2012.
Ironically, the order which was to be complied within a month is still gathering dust.
“The move was aimed to ensure that uploaded information helps students make an informed choice and that they can join an institute that suits their needs. Information at the click of the mouse also ensures transparency as fly by night operators in the sector can be easily weeded out,”DCI member said.
The DCI order also stated that a college’s website must contain information about the hospital to which the college is affiliated and details of the staff along with their photograph and teaching experience apart from university exam schedules as well as DCI’s approval letter.
However, this is not the first instance where dental colleges have been turning blind eye to the directions of the DCI which reflects its poor administration.
In fact even Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) of India in its report last year had come down heavily on the DCI observing that it failed to conduct regular inspections meant to ensure continued maintenance of minimum standards in dental education.
It had pointed out to the fact that records of 24 out of 240 recognised dental colleges, established between 1982 and 2007 were not reviewed since their recognition.