<p>Of this, only the lucky 250-odd students make it through the admissions. Now, two more colleges are in the offing in Gadag and Athani. <br /><br />Ironically, a sizeable chunk of the graduating students have been opting for either civil services or have been found pursuing their higher studies abroad, despite the Karnataka Veterinary and Fisheries Sciences University (KVAFSU) offering postgraduate courses and research opportunities.<br /><br />This has resulted in a huge shortage of doctors in the government-run veterinary hospitals, leaving the department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences grappling with crisis. <br /><br />The department has 2,400 veterinary posts, of which it has been able to fill only 1,400 posts, with North Karnataka districts recording 60 per cent shortage of doctors. <br /><br />Officials say that the department is the last option by graduate and postgraduate students. “After completing their degree, a majority of the students opt for higher studies in foreign countries, where the opportunities are better. Further, a sizeable chunk of students pursue either KAS or IAS,” says senior official Dr Jayaprakash.<br /><br />Very little scope<br /><br />With about 40 per cent of the students opting for higher studies, very few students choose to serve in the department, where the starting salary varies between Rs 22,000 and Rs 25,000, leaving very little scope for the department to fill up the vacancies.<br /><br />Interestingly, there is a great demand from students graduating from neighbouring states who have evinced interest in joining the department. Since the rules do not permit import of doctors from other states, a large number of graduates from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, have not been considered.<br /><br />“To address the staff shortage, the department is going in for a complete re-organisation of the structure. To reduce the gap between veterinary officers and non-veterinary officers, the department has decided to promote veterinary officers to senior posts, so that when they are posted to North Karnataka districts, they will not refuse to take up the job,” added Dr Jayaprakash.<br /><br />Karnataka is also facing a severe shortage of doctors in the wildlife veterinary sector. Sensing an increase in the demand for students from this field, the University had recently created a platform by offering unique courses in the Institute of Wildlife Veterinary Research at Dodda Alavaru village in Madikeri taluk of Kodagu district. <br /><br />However, only a handful of students have opted for this stream, while microbiology and pathology seem to be attracting more number of students.<br /></p>
<p>Of this, only the lucky 250-odd students make it through the admissions. Now, two more colleges are in the offing in Gadag and Athani. <br /><br />Ironically, a sizeable chunk of the graduating students have been opting for either civil services or have been found pursuing their higher studies abroad, despite the Karnataka Veterinary and Fisheries Sciences University (KVAFSU) offering postgraduate courses and research opportunities.<br /><br />This has resulted in a huge shortage of doctors in the government-run veterinary hospitals, leaving the department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences grappling with crisis. <br /><br />The department has 2,400 veterinary posts, of which it has been able to fill only 1,400 posts, with North Karnataka districts recording 60 per cent shortage of doctors. <br /><br />Officials say that the department is the last option by graduate and postgraduate students. “After completing their degree, a majority of the students opt for higher studies in foreign countries, where the opportunities are better. Further, a sizeable chunk of students pursue either KAS or IAS,” says senior official Dr Jayaprakash.<br /><br />Very little scope<br /><br />With about 40 per cent of the students opting for higher studies, very few students choose to serve in the department, where the starting salary varies between Rs 22,000 and Rs 25,000, leaving very little scope for the department to fill up the vacancies.<br /><br />Interestingly, there is a great demand from students graduating from neighbouring states who have evinced interest in joining the department. Since the rules do not permit import of doctors from other states, a large number of graduates from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, have not been considered.<br /><br />“To address the staff shortage, the department is going in for a complete re-organisation of the structure. To reduce the gap between veterinary officers and non-veterinary officers, the department has decided to promote veterinary officers to senior posts, so that when they are posted to North Karnataka districts, they will not refuse to take up the job,” added Dr Jayaprakash.<br /><br />Karnataka is also facing a severe shortage of doctors in the wildlife veterinary sector. Sensing an increase in the demand for students from this field, the University had recently created a platform by offering unique courses in the Institute of Wildlife Veterinary Research at Dodda Alavaru village in Madikeri taluk of Kodagu district. <br /><br />However, only a handful of students have opted for this stream, while microbiology and pathology seem to be attracting more number of students.<br /></p>
