Hubballi: The nomination of five senate and six syndicate members for Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) by the government has triggered a controversy. As all nominated members are from Bengaluru except one from Chikkaballapur, the home district of health and medical education minister K Sudhakar, experts are questioning this disparity.
RGUHS has jurisdiction over 700 medical, dental, AYUSH, pharmacy, nursing, physiotherapy and other semi-medical colleges and is the largest health sciences university in the country.
Dr RB Kotnal, principal, Shri Sanganabasava Mahaswamiji College of Pharmacy and Research Centre, Vijayapura, said some experts, including himself, had urged the government to induct representatives from Mumbai-Karnataka, Kalyana Karnataka and other regions of the state. “The government should note that the North Karnataka accounts for 50% of colleges related to health sciences in the state. Yet, it is deprived of representation in RGUHS. Such disparity has existed right from the inception of RGUHS in 1996. The irony is, experts of South Karnataka too are not getting their due credit as only Bengaluru-based people are being chosen for posts like vice chancellor, registrar and deputy registrars.”
He noted that only people from Bengaluru have been elevated to posts like VC and registrar as RGUHS has a rule restricting the posts to staff of government medical colleges, which are more in the state capital.
Dr Srinivas Kakkilaya, a senior consultant physician at Mangaluru, said Dakshina Kannada district has eight medical colleges but no representation in the senate or syndicate. “Now a days, almost all districts have medical colleges. Appointing external examiners is a crucial duty of senate and syndicate members. If they are from only one district or region, it raises questions over conducting exams and appointing external examiners. RGUHS must have representation from all four revenue divisions of the state to reduce our apprehensions and suspicions,” he said.
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Will expand composition
We are expanding the composition of the senate and syndicate of RGUHS, which is a vast institution. We have taken members from dentistry and are yet to take from Ayush. Four posts from the Governor’s quota are still pending. Currently one of the 11 nominated members is from coastal region but has been a domicile of Bengaluru. However, we will ensure revenue division-wise representation in the next appointments.
Dr K Sudhakar, medical education minister