Dental hygiene studies in peril

KATHMANDU, March 21: Sanju Maharjan, a certificate level student of Dental Science (CDS) hasn’t been able to attend classes since February 26 because her teachers have been on strike.



Sanju is one of 700 students whose future is in jeopardy because the Nepal Dental Association (NDA) has asked all its members not to teach or conduct exams for CDS students. NDA’s protest came after the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) revived the CDS curriculum after a seven-month protest by the students. [break]



The new curriculum includes chapters on simple filling and simple extraction and will prepare the students for legally extracting teeth and applying fillings. NDA does not like this.



“If dental hygienists begin extracting teeth then what is the use of dentists?” questions Dr Suraj Bhakta Mathema, president of NDA.

The students, however, feel that the dentists should follow CTEVT curriculum and prepare the students for their exams.



“Our exams are to begin on April 21, but we haven’t seen the faces of our teachers for a month now. The government has already changed the curriculum, so what is their problem?” says Sanju, who was at the Ministry of Health on Friday to present a letter of dissent to the health minister.



NDA says that the CTEVT changed the curriculum under pressure from the students and without the approval of a technical committee comprising dentists and doctors.



“The current change is against the National Health Policy and we will not comply with it”, exclaims Dr Mathema.



But if NDA doesn’t comply with the demand of the students to begin teaching the new curriculum, the Nepal Dental Science Association (NDSA) claims that they will take their protests to a new level.



“If they don’t begin teaching the CTEVT-revived curriculum within a week we will be forced to close the dental departments at major hospitals in the country,” said Michael Devkota, president of NDSA.



NDSA claims that they have already closed the dental departments at Kathmandu Model Hospital, Baghbazar and at Kirtipur Hospital.



The health secretary has called a meeting on Sunday to resolve the problem. Representatives of CTEVT and NDA are also invited but given the current situation, it remains to be seen how the authorities concerned will achieve an outcome that satisfies all the parties involved.



kushal@myrepublica.com

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