Baba Farid University failure brought resentment in medicos-PSMDTA
Kanwar Inder singh/ royalpatiala.in
Failure of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences Faridkot for timely declaring winter vacation in medical and dental colleges in the state has irked the faculty working in these institutions. Summer and winter vacations are observed in teaching institutes all over the country. Due to Coivd-19 pandemic, summer vacation was not granted this year to the medical and dental teachers in working state government medical and dental colleges under the University but now in spite of drastic fall in the number of Covid-19 patients being treated in these hospitals in government medical colleges and the situation being under control, the Department of Medical education and Research as well as Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) are keeping total silence without any justifiable reason to issue the winter vacation notification which otherwise has been declared in Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research and Government Medical College in Chandigarh, thus leading to a strong resentment in the medical and dental teachers of Punjab.
The Punjab State Medical & Dental Teachers Association Patiala Unit today held a meeting of its executive body and subsequently has made an appeal to the Vice Chancellor of BFUHS Dr. Raj Bahadur and Principal Secretary Medical Education and Research DK Tiwari to declare the vacations as there is no other reason for not allowing winter vacation to the medical and dental teachers. Many of the faculty members might have planned family functions and other programmes during the expected winter vacation. The Government may put a rider to cancel the vacation in case of any exigency under the Covid-19 pandemic, said the association leaders which otherwise has already sent the request well in advance to the vice chancellor to issue the vacation orders in time. The state Government even has failed to clarify till date about how the faculty will be compensated for the cancelled summer vacations.
In a joint press release, acting state body president Dr Vijay Bodal, Patiala unit President and state general secretary Dr DS Bhullar along with Dr Darshanjit Singh Walia, secretary of Patiala Unit of the association said it was unanimously decided in the meeting today to start a massive protest from 28th of December in case the university fails to announce the winter vacation from next month (w.e.f. 1st January) by this time. Even the Supreme Court has asked the Centre to consider granting a break to the doctors engaged in Covid-19 pandemic duties for the past eight months saying continuous work might be very painful and affecting their mental health.
The protest planning w.e.f. 28th December 2020 in Government Medical Dental College in Patiala includes daily two hours work suspension including OPD functioning, elective surgeries and teaching, and from 1st of January next year, suspension of all work except emergency and Covid-19 related duties for the duration of the winter vacations.
December 17,2020
