AIIMS Delhi optometry students protest ‘outdated’ syllabus, hostel shortage, ‘discrimination’

NEW DELHI: For three straight weeks, optometry students at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi are on an indefinite strike. The protest that started on September 2 demanded qualified faculty for teaching, revision in curriculum and examination process, stipend hike and hostel accommodation from first year onwards. And three weeks on, there seems to be no headway even after the administration’s warning of disciplinary action if students don’t rejoin classes and postings.

“The corrupt system of AIIMS Delhi has been playing with the careers of students as it is running bachelor of optometry course without a proper teacher, curriculum and infrastructure. The administration, instead of resolving our concerns, is threatening us with disciplinary action,” Ram Lakhan Meena, vice-president of Optometry Students’ Association (OSA), AIIMS Delhi told Careers360.

“We are protesting against the AIIMS administration for failing to address key concerns like hostel shortages, women’s safety, and an outdated syllabus. We are also demanding the establishment of a College of Optometry at AIIMS Delhi,” he added.

In response to the students’ protest, AIIMS Delhi issued two office memoranda, on September 18 and 20, directing the protesters to join classes and postings within 48 hours, with a subsequent warning of disciplinary and legal actions.

The association has decided to continue the protest till demands are met. “We kindly urge the administration to respond meaningfully to our concerns,” said OSA president Ujjawal Kumar in a statement on September 20.

AIIMS Delhi: Bachelor of Optometry

AIIMS Delhi has 24 seats in Bachelor of Optometry (B.Optom) and these are filled on the basis of marks secured by the candidates in the entrance examination conducted by the institute. B.Optom is a four-year undergraduate degree programme that deals with eye and vision care. The four-year duration includes a one-year internship too. Graduates work as optometrists.

B.Optom students have been striking outside the office of AIIMS director M Srinivas since September 2. The AIIMS administration held three meetings with the protesting students but the strike continues.

“We and our families are worried about our future even after we secured admission to India’s top medical college,” said a protesting student.

Students of B.Optom at AIIMS Delhi are trained at Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, which has been recognised as the apex organisation by the central government under the National Programme for the Control of Blindness.

But the OSA said that less than 25% of scheduled classes are conducted and even those last for 5-15 minutes. “Despite raising concerns on the inadequacy of the curriculum and lack of transparency in examination practices, these issues remain unaddressed. We demand clarification on what curriculum we are expected to follow and which academic structure the administration refers to when directing us to rejoin classes,” it said.

Optometry students’ protest, AIIMS response

In a meeting held on September 20, the students had a meeting with seven members of the AIIMS administration; it was chaired by the AIIMS director Dr M Srinivas. Careers360 has a copy of the minutes of the meeting.

The OSA alleged that AIIMS Delhi has failed to implement a structured curriculum for the Bachelor of Optometry course since 2018.

“This includes neglecting the establishment of prescribed subjects, a proper semester system, and a credit-score system. AIIMS Delhi has neither implemented the existing updated curricula released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) nor developed and implemented its own curriculum since 2018. This lack of a structured curriculum has severely impacted the academic and professional futures of the students enrolled in this course since 2018,” the OSA said, while demanding the immediate implementation of the latest MoHFW Bachelor of Optometry curriculum at AIIMS Delhi.

In response to the demands, the administration said: “The director has assured that the structured curriculum will be implemented.”

Students have demanded that ophthalmologists or ophthalmic technicians should not be involved in framing the curriculum of Bachelor of Optometry and they should be taught by optometrists only. “The director has asked them to provide the list of faculties from whom the students want to be taught [by]. Regarding visiting faculties, the director has stated that the proposal for the same has to go through various statutory committees for necessary approval,” the AIIMS administration said, according to the minute of the meeting.

Among other demands and complaints of malpractices, the students have also sought an increase in stipends. They are currently paid Rs 15,000 per month. The administration informed them that the proposal has been taken up by the Standing Finance Committee of the institute.

Also read Battling NEET coaching and boredom: Why AIIMS Delhi is changing the way it teaches

AIIMS Delhi: Infrastructure, hostel demands

The protesting students have also demanded better infrastructure and hostel facilities at AIIMS Delhi.

The students demanded that two lecture theatres at Dr RP Center, which they have to share with others, be reserved just for optometry. They also want the Ophthalmic Research Association (ORA) library at Dr RP Center to be converted into a lecture theater within three-to-six months.

“The director has desired that the chief, Dr RP Center, shall give access to the optometry students in the ORA library. The TV room in front of Dr R P Center mess should be renovated into a LT within 3 to 6 months,” AIIMS Delhi said.

AIIMS Delhi: ‘Profession-based discrimination’

The optometry students have alleged that AIIMS favours MBBS students, claiming “blatant class and profession-based discrimination…in hostel accommodation.”

“While MBBS students are provided single occupancy rooms within the AIIMS premises, we are often left to struggle in overcrowded and unhealthy conditions, either in expensive external accommodations or in triple seater (sharing) rooms for males and six seater rooms for females. …We are consistently subjected to inferior living conditions that severely impact our mental health and academic performance,” OSA said.

The AIIMS Delhi director has offered hostel facilities for Bachelor of Optometry students at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in AIIMS Delhi’s Jhajjar campus but the students have refused. They have also turned down the proposal of a hostel at the Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Medical Sciences (CAPFIMS) in Maidan Garhi, New Delhi, the minutes of the meeting said.

AIIMS Delhi protest to continue

Despite the AIIMS Delhi director’s request, students will continue their protest.

“The very foundation of our …education is compromised when there are no professors, lecturers, or faculty members specifically designated for optometry. In such circumstances, what classes are we expected to attend?” OSA said in its letter to the AIIMS administration.

Students have demanded a meeting with union health minister JP Nadda, who is also the president of AIIMS Delhi.