Kerala Health Minister Veena George says State Allied and Healthcare Council to come into being in September

The State Allied and Healthcare Council that has been necessitated by the implementation of the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021, will come into being in Kerala by September, Health Minister Veena George has said.

The statutory council will be mandated with fixing criteria for registering with the Kerala Paramedical Council those students who graduated in allied health courses from other States.

Responding to a calling attention motion by Manjeswaram legislator A.K.M. Ashraf (of the Indian Union Muslim League) at the Assembly on Tuesday, Ms. George said the process for registration will commence two months after the council’s constitution. At least a thousand job aspirants who completed various paramedical courses from outside Kerala have been awaiting registration for the purpose of seeking jobs in the State and abroad. Their registration will be undertaken in a time-bound manner, she said.

Course standards

The Minister pointed out that there has not been any mechanism to ascertain quality and authenticity of degrees provided by institutions outside the State. Considering these courses related to health management and patient care, it was necessary that the course standards were closely scrutinised, she pointed out.

Reacting to criticism that the Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS) has been denying equivalency certificates for students who pursued allied health courses outside the State, Ms. George said the university has been providing equivalency for such courses in accordance with a set of guidelines that were issued on May 8, 2015.

She also informed the House that a high-power committee was formed in April to study, monitor and recommend necessary reforms to the paramedical courses that were being offered in Kerala.