Medical college reels under staff crunch

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, August 12

The Government Medical College, Patiala, is reeling under staff crunch, thanks to the apathy of the government towards recruiting medical teachers.

Out of 195 posts of medical teaching cadre, more than half — 108 posts — are presently vacant. 

Out of the three categories of medical teachers (professors, associate professors and assistant professors), it is the entry-level category of assistant professors, where the vacancies are highest. Out of the sanctioned 92 posts of assistant professors, 53 are vacant.

As many as 22 posts of professors, out of the 37 sanctioned posts, are lying vacant, as of today. Similarly, in the case of associate professors, 33 posts, out of total strength of 66, are vacant. 

Notably, 75 per cent of the posts of professors and associate professors are filled by promotions, within the teaching cadre, for which no advertisement or inviting of applications are needed, but even these posts are not filled well in time.

Meanwhile, on Friday, more than 30 PCMS doctors, working under the Health and Family Welfare Department, met Minister of Medical Education and Research, Brahm Mohindra. They submitted a memorandum to the minister urging him to start the process of promotions of PCMS doctors to assistant professor as they wanted to enter into the education cadre. PCMS doctors, reportedly, are waiting for their promotions for more than past three years.

These doctors alleged that the government has utterly failed to fill the entry-level posts of assistant professor in medical colleges, thereby, creating a wide gap in the faculty. This failure of fresh recruitment is giving the excuse to the authority to re-employ the retired medical teachers, a move which has already been opposed strongly by these PCMS doctors, as it has allegedly blocked the chances of their promotions.

Brahm Mohindra, however, informed that the government had already started the process of promotions of medical teachers at all levels in the Department of Medical Education and Research (DMER). Entry-level posts of assistant professor would be filled subsequently, he further said.

According to Punjab State Medical and Dental Teachers’ Association president Dr DS Bhullar: “The government, if completes the process of promotion of assistant professors to associate professors, in all probability, it will render vacancy positions of more than 50 per cent of assistant professor in medical colleges.” 

Principal Government Medical College, Patiala, said: “The Directorate of Research and Medical Education (DRME) will soon hold the departmental promotional committee meetings to fill up the vacancies of assistant professors lying vacant.”