New Delhi: Now, it is mandatory for all undergraduate dental students to undergo a one-year-internship before getting their BDS degree.

    For the first time ever, the internship will also include a three-month compulsory rural posting. Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has approved the re-introduction of a one-year rotational, compulsory and paid internship in the Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) course.

    The course will be for four years along with an additional one-year internship. Though the new norm would be implemented from this academic year (2011-12), it would be applicable for batches admitted in the 2008-09 session. In 2007, the Dental Council of India (DCI) had made the BDS degree a fiveyear “all classroom” course, dropping the need for any hands-on training with patients.

    A ministry official said, “Students on completion of a four-year theoretical BDS course will have to undertake the year-long clinical programme. This is on similar lines to what the Medical Council of India (MCI) has done with the revised MBBS curriculum.”

    DCI officials say, the rationale behind dropping the internship in 2007 was lack of seriousness on students’ part. “Most of the dental colleges in India are private. A majority of students wouldn’t attend the internship, and obtain a fake certificate.