Telangana has only 1 government dental college, and even that is plagued by problems

“Day by day there is an increase in state’s population and year by year there is an increase in the number of dental students and private dental colleges, but we have only one government dental college,” said the letter by the AIDSA.

Lack of government jobs, equipment

Health and Medical and Family Welfare has a total of 12,755 jobs. Out of this there are only 36 jobs related to dentists. Association requests to increase number of vacancies. (Supplied)

The students also requested the government to look into the disparity between dentists and other medical professionals when it came to government jobs. The dentists of Telangana, the students said, “are forgotten”.

“We dentists have the least job openings… In a recent job announcement given by the chief minister, dentists have been forgotten and in this regard we request you to please increase the job vacancies in the upcoming notification,” the students requested in the letter.

On condition of anonymity, dentists also informed South First that quite a few pieces of equipment related to dental treatment do not work in several public health centres (PHCs) in the state, and many of these centres do not even have dentists.

The students who recently graduated used the letter to also request the government to prioritise the oral health of people in rural areas.

They wrote: “We also want to bring to your notice our age-old request of filling dentists’ pots in every public health centre, which may benefit our dentists and nearby communities,” the association said.

Problems galore for students 

Students at Government Dental College, Afzalgunj complaining of no drinking water facilities. State President Dr Manzur Ahmed in the picture. (Supplied)

Speaking to South First about the problems faced by the PG students, AIDSA member Dr Md Manzur Ahmed said: “Students are facing problems regarding transport, sanitation, and stipends as well.”

He said that despite having an official bus used to take the students from their hostel in Koti to the college in Afzalgunj every day.

However, it went out of order and has not been repaired since then.

“It is just parked, all rusted and dusty. There has been no effort to get it repaired causing problems for students in commuting and reaching college on time,” he said.

Speaking to South First on condition of anonymity, women students of the Government Dental College in Afzalgunj strongly condemned the management’s ignorance towards sanitation and hygiene, and the apathy of the officials towards cleanliness.

Students at Government Dental College, Afzalgunj complaining of bad condition of toilets. (Supplied)

“Our toilet doors do not even have latches. We have to ask someone to wait outside the door when one person is inside. That’s the basic thing which the management can take care of,” said one student.

“Even the sinks on the campus do not have a potable water supply. There is no drinking water inside the college campus,” she added.

The letter also mentioned the need for the water plant present in the college to be repaired.

The men’s washrooms n the campus also need to be cleaned, it added. 

No stipends

Meanwhile, the students who are doing their internships have finished six months of rotatory internships and are yet to receive a single month’s stipend, they said.

The students claimed they were working their best for the proper functioning of the Government Dental College and Hospital, and requested the government to grant the stipends regularly. 

The students also claimed that compared to private colleges, the intern students are paid less. They demanded a common stipend for both private and government colleges.