Ingredients News - 'Diagnostic & clinical skills of Ayurveda graduates need to be stepped up for better delivery of services'


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'Diagnostic & clinical skills of Ayurveda graduates need to be stepped up for better delivery of services'

Lucy Fernandes, Mumbai October 30 , 2017

Although Ayurveda graduates play an important role in public health delivery system, their formal training in basic diagnosis and clinical skills are poor. The theoretical and textbook based teaching needs to be transformed into more practical bedside training on par with developments in medicine. Even Ayurveda physicians need to be educated both as clinicians and as scientists (‘Vaidya-Scientists’) where traditional and modern pedagogies are balanced.

It has been observed that the practice of appointing "fake teachers" is rampant in many colleges and this is diluting the standards of education. Similarly, some teachers often tend to teach without sufficient understanding and clinical experience because teacher's training does not receive the required attention in the current education system. The Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) approach of permitting hundreds of new colleges without sufficient infrastructure and teachers has resulted in diploma mills producing thousands of inadequately equipped ayurvedic graduates and post-graduates. The CCIM's uniform curriculum approach has adversely impacted traditional pedagogy and shifted the focus from classical gurukula to colleges and universities.

Kishor Patwardhan, an expert from the field said, at present, the faculty development program has taken a backseat in the education policy related to AYUSH. The ministry of Ayush should declare a few centres as ‘Centers of Excellence’ with reference to a specific field/subject on the basis of their academic and research credentials. These centers must be supported to train fresh teachers during the initial years of their careers. There is a need for introducing some regulations on ‘minimum wages’ for teachers in higher education domain in Ayush to attract the talented individuals into the education sector.

Further, CCIM may consider framing various committees of subject experts to come up with peer-reviewed standard textbooks for BAMS programme. This would help in reducing the redundant materials from the existing curricula. The CCIM should consider to encourage the expert clinicians practicing outside the formal education system to join hands with Ayurveda colleges, he added.

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