Staff crunch, seats reduced in Govt Ayurvedic College and Hospital, Patiala

Ravneet Singh

Patiala, October 24

The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) has reduced the number of seats of bachelor and master courses at Government Ayurvedic College and Hospital, Patiala, due to severe staff shortage.

Streamlining process

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The mess has been created in the past 20 years. The college lacks regular teaching members. We are in the process of streamlining the process. Balbir Singh, Health Minister

For the 2023-24 academic session, the college has been granted permission to fill 28 seats at the undergraduate (UG) and six seats at the postgraduate (PG) level against 40 and 8 seats allowed last year.

This college was established in 1952 and the state government shifted it under Guru Ravidas Ayurved University, Hoshiarpur, in June.

According to NCISM, the college has been granted conditional permission to admit students only on 28 seats (35 seats, including EWS) instead of 40 seats (50 seats, including EWS) in Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) course and six seats (seven seats, including EWS) instead of eight seats (10 seats, including EWS) in two postgraduate courses of Rasashastra and Bahisajya Kalpana and Dravyaguna Vigyana.

Acting Principal Dr Raminderpal Singh Sibia said, “We have written to the NCISM and sought an increase in the number of seats.”

Out of 15 ayurveda colleges in the state, 14 are private. Among them, the Government Ayurvedic College and Hospital, Patiala, has the lowest number of seats.

This college was denied permission to admit students for the 2022-23 academic session over its failure to fulfil the basic eligibility criteria, including lack of teaching and non-teaching staff. Later, the institute was allowed to admit students upon submission of a special appeal and an undertaking.

Sibia said Hoshiarpur’s Guru Ravidas Ayurved University was supposed to carry out the recruitment process.

Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh said the seats had been reduced due to hindrances being faced in relation to lack of regular faculty at the college.

“The mess has been created in the past 20 years. The college lacks regular teaching members. We are in the process of streamlining the process,” he said.