Three month rural service must for BDS students during internship: Mazumdar

Mangalore, November 6: Rendering service in rural areas for three months will be mandatory in the one-year internship that undergraduates have to do for obtaining the Bachelor of Dental Sciences (BDS) degree, said Dental Council of India (DCI) President Dr Dibyendu Mazumdar.

Speaking at the national conference of the Indian Society of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry organised by A B Shetty Institute of Dental Sciences here on Friday, he said that the rural people were not treated by dentists. There are 290 dental colleges in the country.

The dentists should give priority to the rural areas. The three month internship would be befetiing as the gradutes would be exposed to the rural areas. Former Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde said that reduction in value system in the society had disheartened him. “I can not forget the bitter experiences as Lokayukta of Karnataka.

The bureaucracy and the political system has become so corrupt in Karnataka that it can not be repaired. The tragedy is that corruption has engulfed education sector as well.

The teachers who were responsible for building the future of the students are also not doing justice to the job. There is a need to instill values in the society.”

Corruption is like a disease. The youth should raise their voice against corruption which has spread its tentacles all over.

President of the Indian Society of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry Naveet Grewal also spoke. Justice Hegde also released a souvenir.

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Mangaluru’s KPT becomes India’s first autonomous govt polytechnic

News Network

January 23,2026

Mangaluru: The Karnataka Government Polytechnic (KPT), Mangaluru, has achieved autonomous status from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), becoming the first government polytechnic in the country to receive such recognition in its 78-year history. The status was granted by AICTE, New Delhi, and subsequently approved by the Karnataka Board of Technical Education in October last year.

Officials said the autonomy was conferred a few months ago. Until recently, AICTE extended autonomous status only to engineering colleges, excluding diploma institutions. However, with a renewed national focus on skill development, several government polytechnics across India have now been granted autonomy.

KPT, the second-largest polytechnic in Karnataka, was established in 1946 with four branches and has since expanded to offer eight diploma programmes, including computer science and polymer technology. The institution is spread across a 19-acre campus.

Ravindra M Keni, the first dean of the institution, told The Times of India that AICTE had proposed autonomous status for polytechnic institutions that are over 25 years old. “Many colleges applied. In the first round, 100 institutions were shortlisted, which was further narrowed down to 15 in the second round. We have already completed one semester after becoming an autonomous institution,” he said. He added that nearly 500 students are admitted annually across eight three-year diploma courses.

Explaining the factors that helped KPT secure autonomy, Keni said the institution has consistently recorded 100 per cent admissions and placements for its graduates. He also noted its strong performance in sports, with the college emerging champions for 12 consecutive years, along with active student participation in NCC and NSS activities.

Autonomous status allows KPT to design industry-oriented curricula, conduct examinations, prepare question papers, and manage academic documentation independently. The institution can also directly collaborate with industries and receive priority funding from AICTE or the Ministry of Education. While academic autonomy has been granted, financial control will continue to rest with the state government.

“There will be separate committees for examinations, question paper setting, boards of studies, and boards of examiners. The institution will now have the freedom to conduct admissions without government notifications and issue its own marks cards,” Keni said, adding that new academic initiatives would be planned after a year of functioning under the autonomous framework.

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