Kerala Medical College Teachers announce protest over unresolved demands

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association (KGMCTA) has announced a statewide candlelight protest and sit-ins at all medical colleges at 6.30 p.m. on Friday to draw attention towards unresolved grievances.

If the government does not address these concerns, the association plans to escalate the protest with a statewide sit-in at 1 pm on October 10. Kerala has 12 government medical colleges offering MBBS programmes, with a total of 1,755 MBBS seats.

These colleges are a significant part of the state's medical education system. The association has been pressing the government on several long-standing issues, including unpaid salaries, dearness allowance arrears, discrepancies in entry-level cadre pay, and the failure to create new teaching posts in newly established medical colleges, news agency IANS reported.

Medical Dialogues recently reported that in protest against the government’s failure to address faculty and infrastructure shortages, heavy workload, and delayed pay revisions, faculty from various government medical colleges under the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers’ Association (KGMCTA) have observed a ‘Black Day’ today.

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Relocating existing faculty without creating additional posts has compounded staffing shortages, affecting both education and healthcare delivery.

KGMCTA officials noted that these challenges have also hindered the induction of young doctors into the system.

Despite assurances from the state cabinet, no concrete steps have been taken to address the demands, prompting the escalation. KGMCTA President Dr Roshnara Begum T. and General Secretary Dr Aravind C.S. warned that if the government continues to ignore these issues, the association may escalate actions through stepwise teaching boycotts and even outpatient service strikes, emphasising the seriousness of the situation.

The protests underscore growing discontent among medical college faculty in Kerala, who seek timely settlement of salary and allowance arrears, correction of pay anomalies, and adequate staffing to ensure quality medical education and patient care.

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