BU may have HIV/AIDS testing centre for students

Varsity is among 41 institutions in India to train counsellors

A proposal from the Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS) to set up a full-fledged Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC) on the Jnana Bharathi Campus is pending with BU.

Nayana Rani of KSAPS, who sent the proposal in August 2009, however, said BU was taking ‘too long’ to respond.

While BU is ahead of all universities in South India in setting up a Centre for Psychological Counselling, which trains HIV/AIDS counsellors, it also has a one-shot opportunity to have an ICTC, established at only two other universities in the country.

The university is among the 41 institutions across India which have set up centres to train HIV/AIDS counsellors.

In 2008, BU became the only sub-recipient South Indian university of the five-year project, sponsored by Global Fund, Geneva, under a public partnership model to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS.

These centres not only build the capacity of counsellors but also teach them how to go about their job. They conduct refresher programmes to update counsellors' knowledge in a field that witnesses new findings every so often. According to sources, the proposal is aimed at instilling a sense of social responsibility in the universities.

"Besides academics, it is time they also take up social causes like prevention of HIV/AIDS as NGOs cannot carry on the burden for too long," an official said.

No financial burden

The proposal will not burn a hole in BU's pockets as all the expenses - from providing personnel to offering equipment - will be borne by Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society.

The need for setting up such a centre is also affirmed by the proximity of high-risk localities to BU. BU will approve the proposal once it gets free from routine academic work, sources added.