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

Hyderabad: A proposal to raise the retirement age of teaching faculty in Telangana’s government medical colleges from 65 years to 70 years has drawn opposition from junior doctors, senior residents and young specialists, who warn that the move could limit recruitment opportunities, delay promotions and slow career stagnation within the state's medical education system.

The opposition follows reports that efforts are underway to persuade the state government to extend the retirement age of professors and senior faculty members by an additional five years. While no official announcement has been made, several doctors’ organisations, including the Telangana Senior Residents Doctors Association (T-SRDA), Telangana Junior Doctors Association (T-JUDA), Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association (HRDA), and members of the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), have expressed their concerns.

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According to these organisations, faculty retirements play a crucial role in creating vacancies that enable academic progression and employment opportunities for younger doctors. They contend that extending the retirement age would delay promotions for assistant professors, associate professors, and professors while reducing recruitment opportunities for senior residents and newly qualified specialists.

In a recent Instagram post, T-SRDA expressed serious concern over the reported proposal, stating that such a move could adversely affect the career prospects of young medical professionals.

Speaking to TOI, Dr D Srinath of T-SRDA and FAIMA said, “Such a move will directly block the recruitment of young specialists, delay promotions at every level, and create long-term stagnation in medical academia. Medical education cannot progress if vacancies are not created and fresh talent is denied entry.”

The associations have urged the government to focus on addressing faculty shortages through regular recruitment drives rather than extending the tenure of existing faculty members. Dr Karthik Nagula of HRDA pointed out that nearly 1,900 Assistant Professor posts remain vacant across the state and stressed that systematic recruitment is the appropriate solution.

Doctors’ associations further highlighted delays in recruitment by the Medical and Health Services Recruitment Board (MHSRB). Dr Srinath pointed out that 243 of the 607 assistant professor posts notified in the latest recruitment drive remained unfilled. “The govt’s reliance on raising the retirement age is a clear admission of administrative failure. Instead of fixing a slow recruitment system, it is blocking the career progression of the next generation,” he said, reports TOI.

Meanwhile, according to a WhatsApp opinion poll conducted by the Telangana Teaching Government Doctors Association (TTGDA), more than 1,000 teaching doctors participated in the survey. Of the respondents, 921 doctors (92.1%) opposed increasing the retirement age to 70 years, while only 18 doctors (1.8%) supported the move. Another 61 doctors (6.1%) favoured introducing a liberal voluntary retirement scheme after the age of 61 years.

TTGDA leaders Dr Kiran Bollepaka, Dr D. Kiran Madhala, Dr L Ramesh, Dr Kiran Prakash, and Dr Manda Babu were involved in conducting the opinion poll, reports Deccan Chronicle.

While the Telangana government has yet to clarify its position on the reported proposal, doctors’ groups have warned that they may launch statewide protests if the retirement age extension is implemented.

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