The Board of the Optometry Council of India forms two resolutions with regard to student and optometrist registration
The Optometry Council of India, the professional regulatory body with the responsibility of establishing and maintaining high standards of optometry education and recognition of optometry qualifications in India, has formed two resolutions with regard to student and optometrist registration.
The resolutions are:
1. The first resolution is about provisional registration. It says:
The Board of the Optometry Council of India hereby resolves:
- Graduate students who are in their fourth year internship can register with the Optometry Council of India. The students will be provided with a reference number, and certificates will be issued only on completion of graduation.
- Diploma students who are in their final year can also register until 2018, as the council will be stopping registration of diploma holders by 2020.
2. The second resolution is about registration of optometrists. It says:
The Board of the Optometry Council of India hereby adopts the following guidelines regarding registration of optometrists:
- Applicant should have completed two years or more of education in optometry in regular mode (for Diploma) and three years (for Degree) plus one year of internship (CMOC curriculum to be followed for degree courses). Exceptions, such as AIIMS and SNDT College, would be considered if they have done the course after 10+2.
- Students who have graduated from correspondence courses or distance learning programme before 2010 will be considered for registration.After the year 2020 (considered to be the year of passing), applicants with a four-year degree will only be eligible for registration. Those with a two-year diploma will not be registered as optometrists until their competencies are assessed. The manner and method of assessment are yet to be finalised.
Grandfather clause will provide guidelines and processes for the individuals who do not fall under the above criteria. Employers will be encouraged to employ those optometrists who are registered under OCI and with an association membership.
