State not to introduce service bond for admission to SKIMS

Samaan Lateef

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Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 25

Unlike other medical institutions in the country, the state has decided not to introduce service bond for taking admission to super specialty courses at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura.

The decision has left the local DM and MCH aspirants, who had approached the SKIMS authorities to introduce a mandatory service bond or penalty, aggrieved.

The local candidates, who had recently qualified for the DM or MCH course through the National Eligibility and Entrance Test, are demanding that J&K should introduce a mandatory service bond or penalty so that they get an opportunity to serve their own state.

“Every state has kept a bond, ranging from 2 to 10 years, for the candidates opting for super specialty courses. We don’t understand why there is no such bond at SKIMS,” said Dr Adil Ashraf, who has qualified the DM for which counselling across the country will start from August 1.

Several states have introduced a mandatory period of three-year service for a candidate completing a super specialty course or a penalty of Rs 50 lakh or above.

In SKIMS, the monthly salary of a DM or MCH student is over Rs 1 lakh, which means the students admitted will get over Rs 36 lakh during the three-year course. “It doesn’t make sense that money is spent on students from outside the state and later, they leave without serving the patients here,” Dr Ashraf said.

“As SKIMS is open to everyone and that too without a bond, it will be the most sought-after institute. So, where should the J&K students go?” asked Dr Asif Wani, a nephrologist.

“Should they (local students) serve bonds outside the state because of their good performance in some examination? Either bonds should be introduced everywhere so that the local students are benefitted or desirably nowhere so that everyone has the liberty to join any institution as per their will,” Wani added.

However, senior faculty members of SKIMS are against any service bond. “Why should there be a bond when enough number of doctors is available to join the senior residency or faculty posts in SKIMS. In reality, we have surplus manpower available in the subspecialty areas and some don’t have even proper jobs in the field concerned,” said Dr Muhammad Akbar, a professor of cardiovascular thoracic surgery at SKIMS.

Dr Akbar said the problem was improper government recruitment and job allocation in most departments across the country, particularly in J&K.

Meanwhile, SKIMS director Dr Omar Javed Shah said the SKIMS would not introduce the service bond because it had adequate number of doctors to run its super specialty units. “Other states face manpower crisis in the field of super specialties but we don’t have any such need to introduce the bond for the DM or MCH candidates,” Dr Shah said.