5 eggs for malnourished children; no pvt practice by govt doctors: Reforms panel

Bengaluru: The second Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission has recommended giving five eggs a week to severely and moderately malnourished children and extending and doing away with transfer certificates to reduce school dropout rate.

The one-man commission of former Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar recommended also a ban on private practice by government doctors of all departments and transferring veterinary doctors where they are in excess to four districts of north Karnataka, which lacks enough veterinary clinics.

In his 17-point recommendations summerised in a 11-page press note, Bhaskar took into account poor representation of government school children in the MBBS government quota seats.

“Severely malnourished (SAM) and moderately malnourished (MAM) children aged six months to three years may be given five eggs per week instead of two per week now. In addition, normal children may be given two eggs per week,” the commission said.

It said the scheme for out-of-school girls in the age group 15-18 years may be extended from two districts at present to all districts with State funding.

For healthcare in the backward regions and rural areas, Bhaskar said the Taluk Hospitals with higher workload may be provided with additional posts of gynaecologists, paediatrics and anaesthetics specialists against which post-graduate (PG) students may be posted for giving round-the-clock maternity service to reduce MMR (maternal mortality rate) and IMR (infant mortality rate).

The former Chief Secretary said common screening centre staffed with MBBS, nursing and paramedical interns may be started at the out patient department (OPD) counters of hospitals for referral and entering data in e-hospital. Interns and Arogya Mitras may be given tabs to do in situ registration, payment and issue of OPD slips.

“As in Central medical institutes and Central government health system (CGHS), State may ban private practice by government doctors of all departments. This will enable starting of evening OPDs in government hospitals,” the commission said.

According to Bhaskar, the Central Board of Secondary Education and India Certificate of Secondary Education students forming just 11 of the total class X passed students in Karnataka got 48 per cent of MBBS government quota seats.

Out of the 15 per cent rural government quota MBBS seats, only 3.45 per cent are going to rural government school students.

Rural class X passed CBSE and ICSE students forming mere 5 per cent of the total class X passed students got 51 per cent, which is over 10 times of their proportionate share, of the rural government quota MBBS seats in 2022.

Keeping this fact in mind, Bhaskar suggested that the entire 15 per cent of rural quota should be converted to rural State government school quota.

If private school SSLC board students are also to be considered for the quota, it may be converted to rural SSLC board government quota, the commission said.

Alternatively, it also suggested that out of 15 per cent rural quota, 7.5 per cent may be reserved for rural government school students. The remaining 7.5 per cent could be open to private aided, unaided SSLC board school and CBSE, ICSE board school students.

For reducing dropout rate, Bhaskar suggested that orders may be issued doing away with the need for taking transfer certificate and admission three times for a child to progress from Class-1 to Class-12 for schools that are in Karnataka public schools and cluster schools.