Students of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) who will graduate on Tuesday have reason to cheer. The university has recorded the highest pass percentage in the last five years. The 136 gold medals to be awarded to students is more than the number in the previous year.
At a media conference on Thursday, Vice-chancellor S. Sachidananda said that the university decided to partly fund some of the gold medals that were instituted by donors. “Earlier, if the money given by the donors was not sufficient to award a gold medal, we would give a cash award. But now, the university has decided to bear the remaining amount and give gold medals to students,” he said.
The overall pass percentage stands at 81.11. In the 2017-2018 academic year, the pass percentage was 70.44 %.
More female students have secured distinction and first class compared to their male counterparts. A total of 30,556 candidates will be awarded degrees on Tuesday.
Among the different faculties, cent percent pass has been secured in Masters of Public Health, Masters of Pharmacy, Doctor of Philosophy, certificate courses and fellowship programmes.
Girls fare better
The gold medals and cash prizes will be shared by 108 students, of which 86 are women. Fifty of the students who have won gold medals are from colleges in Bengaluru. The university will award scholarships — a cash prize of ₹15,000 — to meritorious students from lower economic backgrounds, said the vice chancellor.
RGUHS has decided to confer an honorary doctorate on K.S. Nagesh, senior dentist and former principal of R.V. Dental College.
70 more PG seats this year
The Medical Education Department, which collated the total number of postgraduate degree and diploma seats in medicine, pointed out that the number of seats had increased by 70 for the 2019-2020 academic year. This year, the total number of seats in government and private colleges stands at 2,345. Last year, the total number of seats was 2,275. Many PG diploma seats have been converted to PG degree seats.
Gold medalists
Vallish Shenoy, A.J. Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangaluru
Bagged 8 gold medals and cash prizes in MBBS
I would study for three hours every day from midnight to 3 a.m. as there were no distractions. But I never missed out on socialising or sports. To break the monotony, I spent a lot of time studying outdoors.
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Aparna G., D.A. Pandu Memorial R.V. Dental College, Bengaluru
Bagged 6 gold medals and cash prizes in BDS
My lecturers were extremely supportive and encouraging. All the seminars and conferences held by the college helped. After my post-graduation, I want to spread awareness on oral health in rural India.
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Bathsa Liza Johnson, Bharathi College of Pharmacy, Mandya
Bagged 6 gold medals and cash prizes in Pharm D.
I studied consistently all through the year. My time management skills helped me. I want to pursue teaching and also contribute to research activities in my field.
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Harshitha K.S., Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College of Ayurveda, Hassan
Bagged 4 gold medals in Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery
I used to diligently follow a timetable throughout the year. I would read multiple books and not merely my textbooks. This helped me broaden my vision.
