Health Dept Drops 3-yr Adhoc Recruitment, to now Hire Doctors for GMER Medical Colleges on Contractual Basis
Ahmedabad:After announcing the ad-hoc recruitment in January, the Gujarat Health Department has now opted for contractual recruitment for the posts of doctors and medical teachers at 13 medical colleges and hospitals (MCHs) under the Gujarat Medical Education and Research Society (GMERS).
In this regard, the State on June 6 released an advertisement announcing that doctors will be hired for these posts on a 12-month contractual basis. This contractual recruitment is only applicable to 8 peripheral MCHs, excluding 5 major institutions.
Since the advertisement did not address the previous call for applications for 3-year ad-hoc recruitment back in January, candidates who had already paid the application fees are now confused as they do not have any clarity regarding their applications and they did not even get any refund. While there is no clarity regarding the ad-hoc appointment, GMERS has expedited the recruitment process for the 12-month contractual posts.
Sources in the Health Department informed Ahmedabad Mirror that the State has taken a decision to completely do away with the practice of 3-year ad hoc recruitment. However, no official notice has been issued in this regard yet.
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According to sources, in the 13 Medical colleges and hospitals in the state, there is a total requirement of 2,306 doctors. However, around 938 positions remain vacant, constituting only 40% of the required staff norms by NMC, including Professors, Associates, Assistants, and Senior Residents.
Back in 2022, the 3-year ad hoc recruitment system was introduced with an aim to incentivise doctors and medical teachers. The previous practice of hiring doctors on 12-month contractual basis could not attract sufficient applicants. This resulted in huge vacancies across institutes.
On the other hand, the 3-year ad hoc recruitment process gained significant interest among the doctors as it was being considered as a pathway for permanent positions for the doctors to wishes to pursue careers in public health sector.
As per the latest media report by Ahmedabad Mirror, although GMERS had initially announced ad hoc recruitment of doctors and medical teachers for all 13 MCHs back in January 2023, in a surprising turn of events, it has now announced a 12-month contractual recruitment system on June 6. In fact, the authorities have not even provided any information regarding the postponement or cancellation of the previous 3-year ad hoc recruitment process.
The Daily adds that in five months, this is the second time that GMERS has abandoned recruitment and appointment processes for its institutes. Previously, the plan of replacing the current in-charge Deans and Superintendents with other officials was cancelled.
Meanwhile, several doctors have opined that the GMERS recruitment announcements were only ways of collecting money. Even after four months of the announcement in January, 2023, there is no certainty regarding the 3-year ad hoc recruitment process and the candidates have not yet received refunds of the Rs 1,000 application fees.
Also Read: Faculty Shortage at Gujarat GMCs: 42% posts empty at six institutes
