The 21st convocation ceremony of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) is scheduled for March 26 in Bengaluru.
The toppers in each subject in both UG and PG courses will be presented gold medals in the upcoming convocation.
The move is to encourage and identify individual talent, that usually go unnoticed year after year. Addressing the press conference, Dr S Sachidananda, vice-chancellor (VC), RGUHS, said: “This has increased the number of gold medals awarded by the varsity, besides those sponsored by donors. Earlier it was 97 medals, which came from donors. With extra 39 medals, without donors' support, it’s going to cost us. However, we are ready to bear it, as the purpose is good.”
Dr Vallish Shenoy, a UG student of the AJ Institute of Medical Science, Mangaluru, has bagged 7 gold medals and a cash prize. Dr Aparna, another UG student of D A Pandu Memorial RV Dental College, Bengaluru, and Dr Bathsa Liza Johnson, PG student (Pharm D) of Bharathi College of Pharmacy, Mandya, have secured six gold medals each.
A total of 136 medals will be awarded to students during the convocation. A medal weighs nearly 4.8 grams. As revealed by the VC, RGUHS is spending Rs 16 lakh on the extra gold medals for the toppers in each subjects. Altogether, a total of 30,556 candidates will be awarded degrees and prizes, with 5,711 in post graduate courses and 24,481 in graduate courses. Besides, there are 175 fellowships, 16 in certificate courses, 129 in super speciality courses and 44 in doctoral studies. The overall pass percentage of all faculties put together stands at 81.11%, which was 70.44% in the previous academic year. The varsity also boasts the best results when compared to the previous five years.
Doctor of Science for Dr K S Nagesh
On the occasion, the varsity will be conferring ‘Doctor of Science’ to Dr KS Nagesh, the well known dental surgeon in the state. He was the former principal of RV Dental College, Bengaluru.