Imphal, July 14 2010: With the date of entrance examination for admission to M Phil course in Clinical Psychology in RIMS this year being deferred, an air of uncertainty hangs over the continuation of the course even as speculation has been raised over possible abolition of the Department.

According to information received from reliable sources, this year's entrance examination was proposed to be conducted on June 23.However, the authorities of RIMS deferred the date of the examination without giving any proper reason, thus giving rise to speculation of the possible discontinuation of the course as well as abolition of the Department.

Reliable sources in RIMS said that the incumbent Head of Department (HoD) is due to retire tomorrow and the next in line who is an Associate Professor is not qualified enough to take over the charge.

Moreover, all the staff in the Department are contract employees.

Sources, however, suggested that the fate of the Department can be saved if the tenure of the retiring HoD is extended or the Department itself could be brought under the administration of Psychiatry Department.

All these can be possible only after a meeting of the executive council of RIMS which, unfortunately has not been convened for a long time, sources added.

RIMS is one of the nine centres in India imparting MPhil course in Clinical Psychology and it is the only centre in Manipur which provides Crisis Intervention and Psychotherapies to people who are victims of personal crisis or at the receiving end of social unrest which is quite prevalent in Manipur today.

Since its establishment in 2003, the Department has imparted training to 16 clinical psychologists including two from Mizoram, one each from Meghalaya and Nagaland and 12 other from Manipur.

The Dept has been functioning in collaboration with the Dept of Psychiatry, RIMS providing therapeutic counselling and required interventions to the mentally not abled people or those in distress.

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