Almost 30 per cent of the 800 Bachelor of Homeopathy Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) seats in the 12 unaided private colleges and one government college in Karnataka are remaining vacant due to lack of interest among medical education aspirants to pursue homeopathy, in comparison to the admissions happening in other systems of medical education.

The college managements fill 70 per cent of the BHMS seats in each institution, and the remaining 30 per cent government quota seats are filled through a selection process conducted by the Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell. But the government quota seats have few takers, according to homeopathy college sources.

Other factors that cause students to desert homeopathy education include lack of adequate career options. The state has only one large homeopathy hospital and government homeopathy dispensaries are very less in the state. Lack of adequate training and practical programmes for BHMS students have also resulted in the decline in quality of education and lack of interest among students to study this alternative medicine branch, said Dr. K Veerabhadramachary, president, Karnataka Board of Homeopathy System of Medicine (KBHSM).

There are 4,000 practicing homeopaths in the state, including 600 odd practitioners in Bangalore alone. Most of the medical education aspirants see homeopathy as a fourth option after MBBS, BDA and Ayurveda courses, he informed.

While the government homeopathy college has an intake of 40 students, private colleges have an intake of 75,100 as stipulated by the Central Council of Homeopathy. If the Council approves an application by a trust to start a new private homeopathy college, the number of seats will go up during the current year. Though the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) awards BAMS degree, it is yet to get registration with the Council, for graduates to start practice. On the contrary, there are several practicing homeopaths in Karnataka holding diplomas and degrees awarded by private trusts.

According to Dr. Veerabhadramachary, only a University or an equivalent that is listed under the Indian University Act can issue any degree or diploma in homeopathy. Further, such a degree or diploma must be included in the Second and Third schedule of the Central Council of Homeopathy Act of 1973. Besides, private institutions have no authority to issue degree without the necessary requirements. To start any educational institutions offering homeopathic courses need affiliation with a University recognised by the State Government and permission from the Central Council of Homeopathy and the Government of India, stated the president of KBHSM.