Failure of Policy Initiatives in Regulating Health Professional Education: The Case of Dental Education in India

Abstract

Health professional education and careers have witnessed major changes across the world during the last two decades of the twentieth century, and India is no exception to this. This article examines the current situation of dental education in India and explores the processes which have led to its commercialization, despite the existence of policy initiatives specifically intended for its regulation. Using the health policy triangle framework of Walt and Gilson, we attempt to understand the contexts and processes of commercialization of dental education and the development of the major regulatory policy initiatives in the sector. Secondary data analysis (regarding the growth of dental education), document analysis (policy and legal) and literature review (about higher education in India specifically medical and dental) are the methods used. The analysis brings to light the failure of policy initiatives in the past three decades by the regulatory bodies of the country, to curb the uncontrolled growth and commercialization of dental education. The Indian experience brings home the critical lesson that drafting relevant policies will not guarantee results, especially when they are to be implemented in the absence of a favourable political climate.