50% interview marks for medical faculty stir row

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, April 23

In the run-up to direct quota recruitment of teaching faculty for Government Medical Colleges of Amritsar and Patiala, allotment of 50 per cent marks to interview has raised medical fraternity’s eyebrows.

The selection process would start from May 3 to fill 153 vacant posts, including those of 42 professors, 14 associate professors and 65 assistant professors. These posts of teaching faculty were advertised in 2016 under the RK Talwar Committee but only 12 per cent marks were attributed to the interview then.

Doctors, who have all along been against the lateral entry such as this, are sensing favouritism. They are objecting to the allotment of 50 per cent marks to interviews. They claimed that this was not only against the set norms of selection but also against the directions of the Supreme Court, whereby, the interview marks cannot exceed 15 per cent.

Moreover, the Punjab State Medical and Dental Association (PSMDTA) has already rejected this selection criterion.

The PSMDTA suggested that the committee should stop lateral entry and fill these posts through promotion.

The aspiring candidates said even the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) had fixed only 15 per cent marks for interviews while selecting doctors in PCMS cadre.

Diwan Bhullar, general secretary, PSMDTA, said “The committee should hold a written test, based on multiple choice questions, set by the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot.”

Sources said some of the doctors have already knocked the doors of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to stop the selection process.

A professor said “The selections under direct quota might ignore the Punjab domicile candidates.”

Meanwhile, justifying the selection criteria, Dr Raj Bahadur, Vice-Chancellor, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) and one of the key members of the RK Talwar committee, said “The criteria are absolutely right as a majority of candidates have the same basic qualification. Therefore, our chairman stated that the interview should have more marks in order to get the best candidates. If there are not enough marks at our disposal, then what is the use of an interview”.