The Delhi government has decided to set up an Optometry training wing at the Guru Nanak Eye Care Centre in the national capital to offer a four-year Bachelor of Optometry degree for medical students.

"Eyes are a very delicate and crucial part of the human anatomy. In this digital era, many people are suffering from chronic eye diseases due to the excessive use of electronic devices. As there is a growing demand for Optometry experts everywhere, Arvind Kejriwal government is setting up an Optometry training wing to provide basic eye care services by trained optometrists to the citizens of Delhi," Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said.

The four-year Bachelor of Optometry degree will be offered by the Optometry Training Wing at Guru Nanak Eye Centre, which is a training institute for graduate programmes, affiliated with the Maulana Azad Medical College and Delhi University.

The objective of the institute is to provide quality eye care services to the people of Delhi by training students and providing support to carry out screening activities for community programs, as well as national programmes.

Sisodia said that the degree is a graduate course in Optometry which includes a one-year internship as part of a 4-year course program with a focus on eye care services.

Currently, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmology in Delhi is the only government institute besides the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Government Medical College, Chandigarh to offer a four-year degree course in Optometry.

Those students who have studied and graduated from the Science stream in class 12th can apply for admission to the Optometry course.