Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, July 28:

The Institute of Certificate in Dental Science which plans to run a three-year course has come under attack for allegedly trying to hoodwink students. According to critics, the institute has changed the name of the course, which was earlier a two-year “Dental Hygiene Course” to “Certificate in dental Science” and extended it by a year. Nepal Dental Association president Dr K B Chhetri described the institute’s move as sans validity. He added the institute is fooling students into thinking that they could specialise as Bachelor in Dental Science after doing a three-year course. Dr Chhetri said the course was recognised neither at the national nor interntaional level. After the institute’s move Kathmandu Model Hospital, Kantipur School of Dentistry and Social Dental Care have agreed to inititate the course. They have begun the process of preliminary exams for inducting students to the course. The first round of exams will be held this Saturday, according to the institute’s deputy chairman Dr Tulsi Narayan Shrestha.

Dr Shrestha said a lot of questions are being raised about the institute’s move but the schedule of the preliminary exams had been already publishedand that the exams would go ahead. While Dr Chhetri claimed that the institute was conning students , Dr Shrestha countered that the criticism was misplaced and that any new step was bound to be questioned

and viewed with suspicion. Dr Chhetri went to the extent of describing the institute as

“unregistered”. Dr Shrestha again countered that the criticism arose because the institute had not meekly submitted to the NDA. Dr Chhetri conceded that the insitute had not thrashed out things with the NDA, and hence the NDA would be more than ready to take matters to court if the institute went ahead with its “arbitrary” programme of floating a new course.