AP mulls raising retirement age of professors in Govt Medical Colleges

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government is considering increasing the retirement age of medical professors in government medical colleges to tackle acute faculty shortages and strengthen clinical training. 

Health Minister Y. Satya Kumar Yadav has made the announcement while chairing a three-hour fiscal and academic review meeting at the State Secretariat. He directed Director of Medical Education (DME) Dr. Vishnuvardhan to immediately draft a blueprint regarding the age extension. 

Also Read:Telangana Doctors oppose proposal to raise retirement age of Medical College Faculty

According to TNIE, the Minister expressed deep concern over the massive vacancies hampering state-run institutions. Out of nearly 800 sanctioned professor posts across 17 government medical colleges, 200 remain vacant. The crisis is severe across 16 super-speciality wings, which are crippled by a 66 per cent staff deficit—holding 106 vacant slots out of 159 positions.

The Minister said the proposal has gained significance as the National Medical Commission (NMC) links three postgraduate (PG) seats to the availability of one professor. Since professors in private medical colleges are permitted to continue practising until the age of 70, private institutions have been able to secure a larger share of PG seats.

He observed that the shortage of promotion-eligible faculty within the government system has made extending the retirement age a key measure to prevent the State from losing valuable postgraduate medical seats. 

The minister also set a target of bringing at least five of Andhra Pradesh's oldest government medical colleges into the country's top 100 medical institutions.

He directed Dr NTR University of Health Sciences to conduct surprise inspections of private medical colleges following reports that some institutions had secured higher student intake despite inadequate teaching infrastructure. Officials have been asked to enforce compliance with National Medical Commission norms and submit periodic reports on corrective measures.

Yadav noted that the state has added 230 MBBS seats and 250 postgraduate seats over the past two years

The minister also directed all principals and heads of departments to strictly enforce the mandatory 75 per cent attendance requirement for students appearing in annual examinations. He ordered the immediate implementation of an integrated online attendance monitoring system to replace the existing mechanism and stressed the importance of strengthening bedside clinical training and promoting ethical values among medical students.  

Reviewing first-quarter expenditure for 2026-27, the Minister expressed dissatisfaction over the low utilisation of Central assistance, with only Rs 357 crore of the proposed Rs 2,308 crore spent. He directed officials to resolve procedural delays, accelerate works with APSMIDC, and ensure at least 50% utilisation of both budgetary allocations and Central funds by September, reports TNIE.

Also Read:Punjab raises retirement age of doctors, dental faculty to 65