Two colleges in Punjab to get autonomous status

Karam Prakash

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Tribune News Service

Patiala, March 1

The state government has come out with a draft to convert medical colleges in Patiala and Amritsar on the pattern of PGIMER, Chandigarh.

It claimed that there was an urgent need to take corrective measures for improving public services, enhancing the prestige and raising the standard of the existing medical/dental colleges in Amritsar and Patiala.

In August last year, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had constituted a high-level committee, headed by Dr KK Talwar, Adviser, Health, Medical Education and Research, Government of Punjab, to formulate a draft for the conversion of medical colleges into autonomous institutions.

The state government has invited suggestions from stakeholders within 15 days.

After getting the autonomous status, the said institutes will be free to frame their own rules and regulations vis-a-vis the appointment of staff and other service issues. However, the existing employees of the colleges will continue without any alteration in their service condition.

All recruitments will be done by the autonomous institutes as per the new provisions and rules/regulations framed by them.

The functional head of these institutes will be the Director, who will function under the supervision of an apex governing body.

The high-level committee has proposed time-bound promotion/designation, along with an increase in the retirement age of the teaching faculty up to 65. The said proposals are said to have been made to motivate and incentivise the faculty.

However, the academic qualification and research work will be the basis for incentives.