Nepotism, constraints for homoeopathy students: NHFI

Barrackpore, Feb 7 (UNI) Levying of more than Rs one lakh as capitation, hypocrisy and nepotism are allegedly the basic constraints for the intending students to get admission in a dozen of homoeopathy medical colleges in West Bengal.

This was observed by National Homoeopathy Forum of India(NHFI) which maintained that seats in most of such colleges remained vacant this session.

Purulia Medical College was one of such colleges where only three students got admission leaving its 50 seats vacant and a college in West Midnapore also suffered due to lack of students.

The state government has allotted maximum of fifty seats for students of homoeopathy in each of these colleges, four of which have been run as government colleges.

Citing the sordid state of affairs in homoeopathy medical colleges as well as in at least seven institutes conducting certificate courses for homoeopathic pharmacists, Forum chief Dr Mrinal Sarkar alleged that the state government had planned to close down at least 6 pharmacy colleges which were given permission in 2002 jeopardising fate of at least 1200 certificate holders as none of these institutions earned recognitions from the appropriate authorities.

Dr Sarkar said the state government had allowed its homoeopathy medical colleges to levy Rs 1.02 lakh to get admission without consideration that from whom such a ransom have been levied.

The students mostly from the middle class families in the state intend to learn homoeopathy and try to get admission in degree courses while capitation stands as barrier for them, Dr Sarkar said.

Recalling a statement of West Bengal Health Minister Dr Suryakanto Mishra, Dr Sarkar said,''The health minister showed dream to the young generation of the state for their better future with the homoeopathy pharmacy without making proper infrastructure here and introduced pharmacy courses in 7 institutions in 2002 while six such institutions had failed to obtain proper recognition of their courses from the appropriate authorities.'' He alleged that the state government had stopped recruitment of homoeopath doctors in its medical colleges and health centers after recruiting 550 doctors almost three decades back while 29 doctors were transferred to the colleges in 2003 for teaching purpose, violating the rules of Central Council of Homeopathy in India.

UNI