Stop lateral entry of senior faculty to state medical colleges- PSMDTA urges Punjab Govt
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in
Punjab State Medical and Dental Teachers Association (PSMDTA) has urged the Government of Punjab to stop with immediate effect the lateral entry of senior faculty including professors and associate professor to the medical colleges by promotions under the direct quota and fill the direct quota posts of medical teachers only at the entry level as assistant professors.
In a joint press release, state president Dr DS Bhullar, General Secretary Dr Jaspreet Singh and state coordinator Dr Darshanjit Singh Walia, have said that no such lateral entry at the Associate Professors and professor levels exists at National Institutes including AIIMS / PGI / BHU etc. and Government Medical Colleges in other states but the practice is going on unchecked only in the medical colleges being run by government of Punjab which has led to a number of flaws in Medical Education and Research department in the state.
There is no such provision of backdoor lateral entry in any other department in the state including Health and Family Welfare Department at higher level posts except medical education department and this illegal practice of appointment of juniors above their seniors must be stopped immediately, said the association leaders.
The medical education department is going to depute associate professors under direct quota by interview fixed on 28th of this month and more than 70 medical teachers have submitted a signed memorandum to the Principal Secretary Medical Education and Research office this week with request to stop the selection under direct quota as it will block all their future promotional avenues on filling these posts and the selected candidates will become their seniors inspite of being very junior to them as new entrants.
According to the affected faculty, most of them have served in rural areas and government hospitals for more than twenty years before becoming Assistant Professors. They have been performing duties at Level 3 Covid facilities in the very hard times of Covid-19 pandemic.
Now the state government is going to recruit Associate Professors in Medical Education Department by lateral entry under Direct Quota and bypassing their legitimate right of promotion.
Doctors from private sector who have not served any government sector even during Covid epidemic and are very junior to them, will be posted as Associate Professor and will become their seniors by such backdoor lateral entry.
This process of lateral entry would curtail the progress of all presently working Assistant Professors, more than 150 in number and more than 40% of present teaching faculty in GMCs of Punjab. It will be very demoralising and discouraging step for their cadre who are serving Government Medical Colleges regularly for so long time.
We feel cheated by this backdoor entry, even after serving nation in so hard and tiring time of Covid 19, say the affected faculty members.
The association has also refuted the statement of Dr KK Talwar, Health and Medical Education advisor of the state government for advocating selection of faculty with 100 percent interview marks alleging favouritism and nepotism by selection committee has already been proved in earlier selections under direct quota with 50 percent interview marks whereas the Supreme Court of India has ruled in many cases not to allow interview marks more than 15 percent and even the interview marks for selection in Indian Administrative Services were kept at 13 percent this year.
August 27,2021
