Let make Vision Council of India a reality!

During the Silver Jubilee celebration of the ‘School of Optometry', Chennai in the year 1988 , the founder of the school (Late) Dr.T.T.Ramalingam emphasized the need for an higher education in Optometry and the need for an independent practice for the Optometric profession.

In the year 1989 during the 22nd All India Optometric Conference held in Chennai the then Honorable Health Minister had assured to legalize the Optometric profession as an independent one in the interest of Public Health.

Again in 1993 on the occasion of 25th Conference of Indian Optometric Association held in Chennai (Late) Dr.E.Vaithilingam an eminent Optometrist and the then President of IOA appealed the State and Central Government to regulate the Optometric practice by legalization.

Mr. Pardeep Bharti who was instrumental in the formation of National Ophthalmic Association and the first General Secretary of the Association insisted the Government of India many times for the formation of an Independent Council for Vision Care Professionals in the line of Nursing, Dental & the Pharmacy in order to deliver effective Eye Care System throughout the country and also to save the rural people becoming blind unnecessarily due to ignorance.

Besides various organizations across the country voiced their opinion during various occasions for the Council related issues. In subsequent meetings with Central Health Ministry by the Representative of the NOA, the Government of India assured to take initiative to form a council for the Vision Care Professionals.

Recently the “Vision 2020 -The Right to Sight” India also taken active efforts for the formation of an independent Council and later it was suggested by our fellow professionals as 'Vision Council of India' in order to bring all the Vision Care Professionals in to one umbrella .

But even after so many years neither our predecessors nor our fellow professionals have failed to take up the cause of forming an independent Council. Always we say that India is a pioneer in Blindness Control Programme and paving the way for many Developing Countries in implementing better Eye Health Care delivery system. This vision cannot be achieved without the involvement of Vision Care Professionals at the micro and macro level since they are one of the important stake holders in the whole process.

There should be an uniformity in thinking among our fellow professionals as the need of the hour is: we need to regroup our self into one fold i.e Vision Council of India which can play an important role in effective eye health care delivery system at all level.

Is there any second opinion to this thought among our fellow professionals?