Lack of funds, research affecting homoeopathy in AP

Shortage of funds and lack of centralised research facilities in Andhra Pradesh is affecting clinical research and overall growth in homoeopathy profession in the state. This was stated by doctors at 23rd All India Homoeopathy Congress held at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT). Several homoeopathy doctors claimed that the quality of education was poor due to lack of qualified faculty and required research infrastructure in the state.

The doctors demanded that more funds be allocated for research and also more colleges and institutes be brought under the ambit of research so that a wider database would be available to develop new drugs to deal with increasing patterns of resistance to disease. Homoeopaths felt that the government must help them popularise their field by recruitment in the public sector.

Dr KP Vasuki, Commissioner, Ayurveda Yoga-Naturopathy Unani Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH), pointed out, “At present Andhra Pradesh is facing acute shortage of teaching faculty in the homoeopathy colleges in the state. About 100 professor posts are lying vacant in the four government homoeopathy colleges in Andhra Pradesh. The state government had not taken any action regarding filling these posts during the past six years, because of which the quality of homoeopathy teaching in the state is degrading.”

“Of these four colleges, each college requires 25 professors but no one has been appointed yet and the department of AYUSH is passing time with temporary lecturers, which is having an adverse impact on the students,” he added.

Currently Andhra Pradesh has only 200 seats in four government and two private colleges. When compared to the huge demand for medical education, the current capacity of homoeopathy medical colleges is too little. Parents and students in the state are demanding the government increase the intake of the seats and enable more students to enter the homoeopathy medical profession.

Demanding the government to intervene and resolve the problems of homoeopathy medical professionals, Dr G Srinivasulau, organising secretary of all India homoeopathy conference said, “We are demanding the government of AP and the

AYUSH department to immediately fill the long standing vacant posts of professors in the government colleges. The temporary lecturers are unable to deliver quality education to the students. Since the temporary lecturers are untrained and lack the required skills in accordance with the pattern of syllabus, the students are badly affected in their academics and laboratory practicals.”

However, on the other hand, the department of Ayush claimed that it did not have enough funds for salaries of permanent teachers. “Lack of sufficient funds is restricting the government to appoint regular professors, very soon, we hope, the finance department would make proper provisions to appoint regular professors,” said Vasuki.