Faculty Shortage at Maha GMCs: Following HC Order for Filling up Vacancies, DMER Stops Faculty Transfer
Mumbai: In a first, the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), Maharashtra has asked the government medical colleges in the State, which are reeling under an inadequate number of faculties, to stop transferring faculty members and appointing them to other GMCs "on-deputation".
Writing to the deans of all the GMCs across the State, DMER on July 04, 2023 asked to halt the 'on-deputation' appointments and reinstate them to their parent institutes.
Confirming this development, a senior official from the medical education department in Maharashtra told Indian Express, "Yes, we have issued the letter and all the faculty members have been called back…as it is a matter of sub-judice, I can’t divulge any further information."
This comes after recently, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court slammed the State Government of Maharashtra for its consistent delay in filling up the vacant posts at the GMCs and hospitals and fixed 31st October 2023 as the last date for the State to appoint professors, doctors and other medical, nursing or teaching staffers.
The practice of transferring faculties to other newly set up medical colleges has been adopted by the States across the country over the years. Such faculty transfer generally happens during the inspection of the new GMCs by the National Medical Commission (NMC), the Apex medical education regulatory body in India.
Also Read: Bombay HC directs Govt to fill vacant posts at GMCs by October 31
As per the latest media report by Indian Express, this practice used to be adopted in Maharashtra as well. Every year, professors belonging to major GMCs like Mumbai, Nagpur, and Aurangabad were sent on deputation to other institutes at the time of the NMC inspection. Using this method, the criteria of an adequate number of faculties in medical colleges was met during the inspection and ultimately it prevented any loss of medical seats.
The Daily adds that last year more than 80 and 30 teachers belonging to the GMCs in Nagpur and Mumbai respectively were given on-deputation appointments. DMER was criticised recently for the transfer of 33 faculty members in May from various GMCs on deputation to the new GMC in Parbhani before the NMC inspection. Later the matter was also raised before the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court.
Commenting on the practice of on-deputation appointments, a former senior official of DMER informed Indian Express that in order for a medical college to get the NMC approval, it needs to fulfill the 'minimum faculty requirement'. According to NMC rule, for 250 MBBS students, a minimum of 40 faculties are required including one professor, 7 association professors, 8 assistant professors, 8 senior residents and 16 junior residents.
“But rather than filling up the posts and giving periodical promotions to lecturers, the state depends on such temporary solutions which further widens the gap of teacher-student ratio. This affects the efficient learning process of students — both theoretical and practical,” the official told the daily.
PIL before Bombay High Court:
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the matter came to be considered before the Bombay High Court as well when AIMIM MP Syed Imtiaz Jaleel filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Aurangabad bench of the High Court and sought the intervention of the Court for filling up the vacant posts of doctors in government hospitals and those run by the local bodies.
The court, on February 10, had directed the government to fill up the vacant posts on a 'war footing' basis and had asked the state to submit the details of the vacant posts.
In information submitted by Additional Government Pleader S G Karlekar on April 12, as given by the state Medical Education and Drugs Department, the number of vacancies was detailed.
According to it, around 118 posts out of the 348 sanctioned posts of professors or doctors across government hospitals and colleges for clinical subjects are lying vacant. Nearly 226 out of the 689 sanctioned posts of associate professors are vacant and 691 posts out of the 1,068 posts of assistant professors are vacant.
The matter of on-deputation appointments of medical college teachers was also raised in the Court. While referring to a March 13 communication issued by the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), the petitioner pointed out that the government is deputing medical professors to the newly established Government Medical Colleges at Parbhani and Osmanabad ahead of the National Medical Commission (NMM) inspection. Calling it a 'create a make-believe picture', the petitioner said that it is just a method to make the new hospitals viable and eligible for recognition. The court called the DMER's action astonishing.
Previously, the bench also slammed the State for its consistent delay in filling up the vacant posts at the state government medical colleges and hospitals and fixed 31st October 2023 as the last date for the state to appoint professors, doctors and other medical, nursing or teaching staffers.
In its order passed on April 20, the court observed, "Considering our orders passed since May 4, 2021, onwards, we are now constrained to issue directions to the Government, by way of an ultimatum, that the above-mentioned vacancies, especially amongst doctors comprising of professors, associate professors and assistant professors, shall be filled in by October 31, 2023. We are striking a note of caution that we would not entertain a request for extension of time with regard to this direction."
Finally, providing relief to the GMCs dealing with faculty shortage, the DMER has asked them to stop transferring faculty members and appoint them to other GMCs "on-deputation".
With nine new GMCs coming up in Maharashtra, the main challenge for the medical education department of Maharashtra would be to fill up the vacant posts. The major number of vacancies are in the departments such as radiology, dermatology, orthopaedics, and pulmonology, adds Indian Express.
Meanwhile, the daily adds the newly set up medical colleges in Gondia, Yavatmal and Chandrapur will have to face problems with the DMER asking the faculties to return to their original colleges. NMC last year cancelled 8 PG medical seats at GMC Yavatmal because of lack of faculty. Referring to the shortage of faculty, a student from the medical college told the daily, "We are running with 50 per cent staff so; we aren’t getting approval for seats. In the third-year post-graduation, we have only 40 resident doctors."
NMC Directions:
Earlier this year, NMC slammed the states/UT governments on the irregular practice of transferring faculty to medical colleges that lack sufficient strength of teaching staff just ahead of the NMC inspection and transferring them back to their respective institutes once the assessment is over.
Issuing a notification in this regard reiterating the responsibilities of medical colleges and norms for faculty requirements so that deficiency in teaching staff doesn’t occur, the NMC’s Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) asked the Departments of Medical Education of all the States and UTs to abide by the rules and not change posting of medical teachers in one academic year.
Moreover, the authorities were asked to comply with the Minimum Standards of Requirements laid down by the apex medical regulator for faculty in a medical college as well as ensure the sanctioned capacity of faculty is met so that the standard of teaching is not compromised.
Also Read: NMC slams State Govts for transferring medical teachers ahead of Inspection
