1. AYURVEDIC EDUCATION IN CRISIS
Dr. Remya Krishnan MD PhD

2. Science is taught as
literature
 The science of Ayurveda is documented in
sanskrit does not mean that Ayurveda is
literature and not science .
 Language of sanskrit should be taught with the
perspective to learn and comprehend science
and not sanskrit mahakavyas .
 Applied learning of sanskrit must be primarily
focussed on Ayurveda, not Laghu siddhantha
kaumudi or Reghuvamsha

3. USE OF LANGUAGE
 Sanskrit in Ayurveda colleges must be taught
be Ayurveda faculties themselves who
possess indepth knowledge and qualification
in Ayurveda and Sanskrit as well.
 Teaching must inspire students to recognise
their responsibility in learning and
comprehending a Medical science which
considerably differs from any other branch of
science and arts.

4. FACULTY RECRUITMENT
 Faculty recruitment must be entirely based on
their credentials and performance and
completely unbiassed .
 Screening of faculties for their knowledge,
skills , aptitude and attitude before recruitment
irrespective of their experience is inevitable for
development of institution and professional
development of students.
 Constant faculty empowerment programmes in
academics and clinical skills in teaching
institutes.

5. Lack of proper introduction
 Proper introduction about the scientific outlook
, attitude and approach of science of Ayurveda
is hardly conveyed to first year students.
Teaching on
a. What is science ?
b. How and why Ayurveda is science ?
c. What is Science Based Medicine ?
d. How Ayurveda is Science Based Medicine ?
Etc. considerably augment the professional
attitude and aptitude of Ayurveda students.

6. Faculties lack confidence in knowledge
 Most of the faculties are working for status and
money and do not care about strengthening
their knowledge and skills.
 They dangerously mislead students that
success in practice has no real connection
with acquiring knowledge.
 Students find themselves completely lost
through out the curriculum .
 Most of them lose confidence and commitment
when they become professionals

7. Examples of certain misled
notions
 Doshas are “imaginary” concepts .
 Nothing is certain in Ayurveda.
 Anything could be right and wrong in
accordance to their view points .
 Theory is absolutely contradictory to clinical
practice
 Experienced people are always correct . One
should not argue with them .

8. General problems in today’s
academics
 The definitions and interpretation of the scientific
terminologies in the new generation books of
Ayurveda are wrong, misleading as they are
deviated from the intentions in Basic science.
 They are full of contradictions and uncertainity .
 Students have to depend on these books as they
have no other alternatives .
 Thus they go wrong from the early learning stage
itself
 More dangerously, they are ignorant of their
ignorance and misled knowledge and grow up to
be the next generation of misled faculties and
physicians .

9. No standardised evaluation in
examinations
 No science based standards are followed in
evaluating the student answer sheets in
clinical case examinations.
 The faculties adopt no fixed science based
guidelines as yardsticks and instead stick on
to their “logic and experience “ rather than
standardised “logic of science ”.
 No uniform system of assessment as no
uniform standards of what is right and how -is
not yet fixed at all .

10. Need of Science Based evidence
Based Ayurveda oriented training
 Faculty orientation in SBEBA is required FIRST
 All definitions and implications of Basic science is
to be clarified for faculties and implemented
standardised .
 The faculties must recognise their weakened
areas of knowledge and skills themselves and
must constantly improve in Science Based
Evidence Based Ayurveda.
 Class room and OPD Teaching should be entirely
based on Basic science - not tradition,
experience or anecdote

11.  There must be science led connectivity
between what faculties learn themselves,
teach students and practice .
 They should appraise their quality constantly
by checking whether their patients are getting
“intended” results
 They should also appraise themselves
whether they succeed in communicating the
scientific basis of treatment with their students
and co faculties

12. Required modifications
 Start by acquiring accurate knowledge of
definitions, theorems , principles , their
implication and applicablility in SBEBA.
 Sharpening interpretation skills of self and
student by constant practice of techniques of
SBEBA .
 Include projects with emphasis to real patient
situations rather than data
 Enhance student communication skills to
enable them to express what they learnt

13. Required modifications
 Encourage them to learn and adopt Ayurvedic
science based research and clinical
methodologies to solve clinical questions and
problems .
 Train them to understand and interpret human
subjects and not data .
 Culture a healthy competitive spirit to make the
patient health possible at minimum cost and
time by the right science based evidence
based management

14. THANK YOU