The poor health indices and health care in rural India have always been met with lofty ideals sans action; they demand urgent and radical solutions. The recent proposal to introduce a new medical course, Bachelor of Rural Health Care, has been met with resistance from many sections of the medical fraternity. Its opponents argue that it will result in second-class health care for rural India and increase the rural-urban divide....
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Medical degree in 3.5-year for rural docs by Dhananjay Mahapatra
A medical degree in 3-1/2 years? This could soon be a reality with the health ministry and Medical Council of India (MCI) planning a shorter medical degree for rural students who would exclusively serve the rural populace. The hinterland, where few doctors want to serve, could soon have a dedicated corps of medical practitioners drawn from among students raised in rural areas. After incentives failed to lure doctors to practise...
More »Learning from successes and failures by Amartya Sen
A report card from Pratichi Trust on the primary schooling scene in West Bengal Pratichi Trust (India) was established a decade ago, along with Pratichi Trust (Bangladesh). The latter has been concentrating on the social progress of girls and young women: it has worked particularly on supporting and training young women journalists reporting from rural Bangladesh. In India, the work has mainly focussed on advancing primary education and elementary health care,...
More »Primary Schooling by Amartya Sen
PRIMARY SCHOOLING: I Pratichi Trust (India) was established a decade ago, along with its sister across the border, Pratichi Trust (Bangladesh) [1]. The Bangladesh centre has been concentrating on the social progress of girls and young women there (it has worked particularly on supporting and training young women journalists reporting from rural Bangladesh), whereas here in India, the work of the Trust has been mainly focused on advancing primary education...
More »Docs protest rural practice bill
The government’s bill to create a three-year diploma course to train “rural health practitioners” triggered protests from doctors today, who questioned the validity of such a diploma and threatened a statewide agitation. The West Bengal Health Regulatory Authority Bill will permit rural health practitioners with the three-year diplomas to treat patients in villages where qualified doctors don’t want to go. The health practitioners will not be called doctors, health minister Surjya Kanta...
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