What an irony- When junior SRs get paid more than senior Assistant Professors!

New Delhi: Imagine getting a much coveted promotion in your job only to come to know later that you are going to get a much much lesser pay than your current pay. This seems to be a situation with various doctors who are joining medical academia at the post of assistant professors only to face an anti climax that their pay package is going to fall by more than 15 percent.

Currently, the trend has developed whereby the salary of Senior Residents, which is a junior post and an entry level to becoming an Assistant Professor in a medical college is actually higher than the person, who has already entered the medical education sector as an Assistant Professor.

The disparity was clearly visible in the recent advertisement by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi.

Inviting applications for the contractual posts of Assistant Professor and Senior Resident in the De-Addiction and Treatment Centre at Dr. RML Hospital under Drug De-Addiction Programme of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the advertisement mentioned various details for the posts including the essential qualifications, experience, consolidated emoluments, age limit, tenure, place of work, date of interview etc.

What was shocking that the Assistant Professors were being offered Rs 95,000 per month, whereas the Senior Residents were getting Rs 1,15,300 per month as consolidated emoluments.

Speaking about the matter, a doctor who has worked for several years in the post of Assistant professor in a Delhi based government hospital, told Medical Dialogues, "The condition of the Assistant Professors hired on contractual basis is pitiful since they do not get good salary, leave and other benefits and even teaching experience."

He worked as a Senior Resident for three years in a government hospital in Delhi and then worked for a year and a half as an Assistant Professor on contractual basis. While he was receiving a salary of around Rs 1,28,000 to Rs 1,35,000 during his senior residency, the salary dropped down to Rs 95,000 when he joined as an Assistant Professor.

While commenting on the issue, he explained, "After completing Senior Residency, a doctor can apply for either contractual of permanent posts of Assistant professors. However, the Last faculty recruitment was done back in 2019. Hiring people for the permanent posts- either Central or State Government posts, it is a long process and the recruitment drive takes place usually after a gap of three to four years."

"So, in order to deal with the shortage of Assistant professors, the Government mostly hires doctors on contractual basis. Even for a GOI hospital, the remuneration for the contractual posts is Rs 95,000 consolidated. After deduction of the tax, it comes down to around Rs 85,000. That is a big step down," he added.

"The problem is that in case of contractual posts, despite their seniority, these doctors are given lesser salary, they are denied the medical benefits, regular leaves, D.A and health insurance," further mentioned the doctor.

Salary of Assistant Professors equal to junior residents at some places:

Explaining the shocking disparity, he mentioned that even the MBBS graduates, who are hired for the posts of Junior Residents (JRs) get equivalent salary than the contractual posts of Assistant professors.

"In case of Central Government hospitals, even the JRs get Rs 95,000 as salary. Imagine the plight of a person, when after completing 4.5 years of MBBS, 3 years of Post-graduation and another 3 years of Super Specialty training, they are paid lesser than even a JR, who join the hospitals simply after completing their MBBS degree," he added.

"While the JRs are almost always hired on contractual basis, the Senior residency scheme also has two types- regular and adhoc senior residency. Even the adhoc people get more than the Assistant Professors," explained the doctor, who after leaving his contractual post, is now working in Central Government hospital in the permanent post of Assistant Professor.

"The Government has shut its eyes towards the basic recognition of human resources and talent," he added.

Why this Disparity?  

Doctors explained that this disparity was not there around twenty years ago when the doctors could enter the field of medical academia after completing their Post graduate degrees. Therefore, as per the previous rules, the PG Junior Residents could directly apply for the posts of Assistant Professors, which used to be considered as the entry level post for the field of medical education.

However, in recent times, it has become mandatory for doctors to undergo Senior Residentship before being eligible to enter the medical education sector. Therefore, before applying for the 'senior' post of Assistant Professors, the doctors need to apply for the 'junior' post of Senior Residents.

Speaking about this, the doctor added, "Contractual AP posts have been running for the last 10 years, At that time this pay scale of Rs 95000 was okay when compared to senior residents who were paid around Rs 80-90000 at that time. Overtime, the payscale for SRs improved following the pay matrix regulated by the Central Government. However, for the contractual AP posts, there is no regulation, it is a fixed remuneration, without any benefit of fixed scheme or leave etc."

"The first reason for this disparity is the fact that there are limited permanent posts for Assistant Professors and because of the huge demand they fill these posts mainly on contractual basis. In addition, since the posts of Assistant professors are contractual by nature, they do not come under the pay band. Whereas the pay scale for the JRs and the SRs get regulated by the Government pay band. On top of that the SRs and JRs get allowances as well. However, the Assistant professors only get a consolidated pay," added Dr Aakash Tomar, who is currently working as an Assistant Professor.

Different Laws Regulating the Salary for SRs and Assistant Professors: 

Pointing out that different rules regulate the salary for Senior Residents and the Assistant Professors, Dr. Rohan Krishnan, the National Chairman of FAIMA added, "The posts of Senior Residents are comparatively new. Previously, the doctors used to be eligible for the posts of Assistant professors after completing their post graduation. So naturally, their salary used to be higher than the PG students. Later the residency scheme was introduced and the pay disparity started."

Referring to the separate rules regulating the salary of Resident Doctors, Dr. Krishnan added, "In case of Senior Residents, the CGHS residency Scheme regulates their salary. However, in case of Assistant Professors, their pay band is not fixed and it also varies from State to State."

When asked about the rules governing the Assistant Professors, a Cardiothorasic Surgeon who worked as a contractual Assistant Professor in a Delhi based Government hospital told Medical Dialogues, "The salary of Assistant professors gets regulated by either the Central or State Government. The problem is that there is not any fixed scheme for these contractual posts. Only if the Government comes forward and regulates this, then this problem can be solved.

Impact into Medical Academia: 

The Post of Assistant Professor is very important because through this post, the young doctors enter medical academia. However, given the fact that they have to run their houses with the salary, it is a shocker for them that after receiving higher salary during their SRship, they get a lower salary when they join as Assistant Professors.

In fact, the issue is not limited to salary only. These doctors are even denied any recognition of the teaching experience for the years they work in the contractual posts of Assistant Professors.

Referring to this, the Cardiothorasic Surgeon from Delhi told Medical Dialogues on the condition of anonymity, "The APs do not even get teaching experience. In medical field, teaching experience is a very important thing."

Explaining the matter, he mentioned, "After completing three years of senior residency, a doctor becomes eligible for the post of Assistant Professor and they grow in their career. Similarly, after working in the post of Assistant Professor for four years, he/she gets promoted to the post of Associate Professor. Pay scale, seniority everything increases gradually."

Unfortunately, that is not the case for the contractual APs. Even if a person works in the contractual post of Asst Prof for four years, their academic experience remains zero and they are not considered for a promotion to the post of Associate Professor and they cannot even apply for the post of Associate Professor in Government institutes because they do not carry the teaching experience that is required," he explained.

"The only door opens for these people is corporate set up who considers that these doctors have gained some experience. However, if the doctors wish to continue in the Government set up, they need to start from the scratch and get recruited for the regular faculty," he added.

Possible Solution?

When asked about the possible solution regarding this disparity, the doctor said, "It is plainly pitiful condition for the contractual APs and adhoc doctors, who despite their years of experience are denied even the basic human rights. The way forward is to introduce a proper regulation in this regard. First problem is the Government is not paying them enough salary even though they are making them work more than the normal regular faculty."

"Government should at least take the seniority into account and give more salary to the Assistant Professors than the Senior Residents," added Dr. Aakash Tomar.

"Regular posts of Assistant professors should be advertised and filled immediately and Government should fill these posts on regular basis. In all the government colleges, 90% people who are working in the posts of Assistant Professors are contractual posts. UPSC examination cadre which fills up these posts of Assistant Professors are filling only a very few seats and around 90-95% of posts are filled on contractual basis," Dr. Rohan Krishnan opined.

It is of utmost importance that the Government creates regular and permanent vacancies for the posts of Assistant Professors. Even in case of the contractual APs should also get the salary equal to the regular faculties," he added.

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