BMCRI doctor replaces Director of Bowring Medical College; Senior doctors cry foul

Karnataka: The Karnataka medical education department's decision of the replacement of the former dean cum director of Bowring and Lady Curzon medical college has received criticism from the institute's doctors. The doctor condemning the move have cited that an insider should have been appointed rather than a doctor attached to another medical college.

According to a recent media report, the former dean cum director of Bowring and Lady Curzon Medical College, Dr KS Manjunath has been replaced as his contract was abruptly ended by the authorities. Dr Manoj Kumar, an Orthopaedic professor from Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) will be replacing him and serving as the new dean cum director of the Institution, the medical education department order states.

Mr Manjunath was assigned the position of Dean and director of the college since the beginning of the college in 2017. He was continuing his service as the dean on an extension of the contract for three years after he retired in 2018. He was supposed to retire in November 2021. However, according to the sources, the medical education department decided to end his contract abruptly after he requested for 6 weeks leave due to personal reasons from July 1. This decision of the authority has been criticized by some senior Doctors of Bowring Medical College, reports The Hindu.

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Stating the reason for the new recruitment, the Medical Education Minister, Dr. Sudhakar K made a tweet where he mentioned that a leave of absence in this situation when the whole medical community is fighting against the pandemic is not responsible, hence the government decided to replace him with a suitable substitute. He stated as the doctor "sought to go on long leave, we immediately appointed one of those suggested by him to ensure that the functioning of the institute, a designated COVID hospital, is not affected".

Three senior doctors from Bowring Medical College including the Medical Superintendent G.N. Vijaylakshmi have written to Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar objecting to the process of replacement.

The doctors submitted a letter to Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar stating that according to the institute's bylaws and Cadre and Recruitment (C and R) Rules anyone from outside the institute doesn't have the permission to be appointed to the top post.

The letter was supported by Srinivas Naidu, professor and head of the Department of Physiology, and Meenakshi Parthasarthy, professor and head of the Department of Anatomy, apart from Dr. Vijaylakshmi, the medical superintendent. The doctor suggested that authorities should appoint someone among the senior doctors of the institute.

According to one of the doctors, the former Dean and director himself suggested the name of six of the professors three from Bowring Medical College and two from BMCRI who are potential candidates for the position of Dean and director. Doctors in their letter mentioned: "As BMCRI would have shown Dr. Manoj Kumar as a faculty on rolls at its institute during inspections by the Medical Council of India, it is not possible to show him on the rolls of Bowring Medical Institute again", reports TH.