GOC takes 354 students off the registers

The General Optical Council (GOC) has removed a total of 354 optometry and dispensing students from its registers for failure to comply with the legal requirement to renew their registration for 2009-10.

In total, 97 student optometrists and 257 student dispensing opticians were removed from the registers on September 1.

The Council said this week that the removal figure was a 1.3 per cent decrease from last year. It is now sending out lists of those who have been removed from the registers to the relevant training providers and examining bodies.

GOC registrar and chief executive, Dian Taylor, warned that students who have been removed risk putting their studies and future career at risk unless they take immediate action. Students will not be allowed to continue with their course or pre-registration training, nor sit any exams, until they have been restored to the registers.