BANGALORE: Bangalore University Vice-Chancellor Dr N Prabhu Dev on Sunday said that there was a shortage of around 6 lakh doctors in the country.Speaking at a meeting held by the Apna Desh Association, a collection of volunteers working towards rural empowerment, Prabhu Dev said, “India has one of the most neglected healthcare systems in the world.Infant Mortality Rate in the country is 52 for every 1000 as against 8 for every 1000 in countries like the USA.”The VC, who is himself a successful heart surgeon, said that medical students these days do not wish to serve in rural areas as they have to make a significant investment, starting from `20 lakh in order to finish their education.“They do not want to go to rural areas in addition to the compulsory service period,” he said and added that there existed a complete detachment between urban and rural areas in the country today.Prabhu Dev quoted figures which show that 800 million people of a population of 1200 million survive on an income of less than `20 a day.“We need to bridge this gap.Its time our ideology moved on from Mera Desh (my country) to Apna Desh (our country),” he said.Also speaking at the venue, HB Valikar, Vice-Chancellor of the Karnataka University said that students needed commitment to make a difference to the country instead of pure merit.“People who stay back to study in India are termed as non meritorious, I don’t see why. Commitment is the need of the hour,” he said. Formed in 1992, Apna Desh Association is the brainchild of Bharat Lal Meena, currently the Commissioner of the Bangalore Development Authority. The association engages in several rural empowerment programmes around the state. VTU VC H Maheshappa and Mayor Venkatesh Murthy were also present.
Comments
0 comment