Tanda college teachers write to govt, demand retirement at 58

Tribune News Service

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Dharamsala, September 1

The Tanda medical college teachers association has written to the government to reduce their retirement age from 62 to 58 years. The teachers have alleged that the submission has been made as the government was planning to increase their retirement age from 62 to 65 years.

President of Tanda medical college teachers association Dr Munish Saroch, while talking to The Tribune, said, “We have come to know that the government is planning to increase our retirement age from 62 to 65 years. We have written to Secretary Health requesting that instead of increasing retirement age the government reduce it back to 58,” he said.

Secretary Health M Sudha Devi, when asked, denied that the government was going to increase the retirement age of medical teachers from 62 to 65 years. She said there was nothing in pipeline in this regard.

In a letter to Secretary Health the medical teachers association has stated that their retirement age has been periodically increased over the last decade from 58 years to 60 years and then to 62 years. Over the years, this has been postulated that the government had to increase this age due to non-availability of experienced faculty across various medical colleges of state. This problem has been effectively tackled by the HP Government by increasing the PG seats across all medical colleges with over 400 postgraduates passing each year. To add to it, over 700 MBBS graduates passing out each year. Several factors contribute to the need for this policy revision, the medical teachers association has argued.

Medical teachers association has said that increased retirement age has led to increased incidence of health issues like stress, hypertension and other lifestyle diseases among the faculty. Increasing retirement age has led to decreased opportunities for upcoming eligible young faculty, which has led to exodus of eligible faculty out of the state. Allowing for an earlier retirement would help in managing burnout and ensuring that educators are in optimal health to perform their duties effectively, the medical teachers association has claimed.

The teachers association has further said that the rigorous and stressful nature of medical education and clinical work can take a toll on the health of faculty members. Reducing the retirement age would allow individuals to retire in better health condition. “Our faculty members play a crucial role in educating the next generation of healthcare professionals and contributing to the advancement of medical research. However, the demanding nature of their responsibilities, coupled with the high-stress environment inherent in medical education, has led to a growing number of health issues among our staff. We believe that reducing the retirement age to 58 years would align with best practices observed in other sectors and institutions facing similar challenges,” the medical teachers association has maintained in a letter to Secretary Health.

No proposal in pipeline

• Secretary Health said no proposal in pipeline to increase retirement age of medical teachers
• Medical teachers association has said that increased retirement age has led to increased incidence of health issues like stress, hypertension and other lifestyle diseases among the faculty