Faculty posts in new Govt Medical Colleges

 

The Government having opened five new Medical Colleges in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir with a long term objective to resolve the problem of shortage of Doctors as also providing opportunities for more students desirous of pursuing medical studies in the UT, by getting admission in these new colleges. However, the task of erecting necessary infrastructure for these colleges to be operational and run smoothly , though having taken place , however, continues to remain incomplete in the most vital area of providing teaching staff , reasonably in the required strength , to impart education to the students in these colleges. It is not that the required necessary steps in the direction were not taken but the issue of response to such initiative of the Health and Medical Education Department was not even minimal. Since such posts , especially of Gazetted cadre , are required to be filled under a well laid out procedure through Public Service Commission and only for the domiciles of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir , most of the posts , as on date, in these five Medical Colleges are vacant and not filled. If College wise data of the required number of posts pertaining to various branches of medicine and those filled is perused , it would be visualised as to how a position was increasingly nearing wherein these Colleges faced an imminent threat of getting de-recognised , if these faculty posts continued to remain vacant any more , besides affecting the standard and the scope of teaching . While we appreciate and share the problems faced by the students undergoing the process of studying in these colleges and eager to complete their courses etc in normal ways , at the same time – the efforts of the Health and Medical Education Department in resolving the issue too deserve due attention. Somehow, skeleton and ad-hoc arrangements are made just to keeping these colleges going so far as the factor of faculty members is concerned. We understand that following all reasonable efforts having been exhausted in getting the requisite posts filled from within the Union Territory , and even a few who came forward but refused to join the colleges situated in areas not of their choice, leaving no option for the Government but to have such posts filled by relaxing or modifying the provisions of J&K Civil Services Decentralization and Recruitment Act 2010 . With that, such categories of gazetted level teaching / faculty posts , as may be identified by the UT Health & ME Department, are excluded from the operation of the said Act for non domicile candidates for appointment on academic arrangements subject to the condition that at least, they are advertised once and despite that they remain unfilled. Since the validity of such relaxation is only up to March 2022, it remains to be seen as to how the exercise was completed fast. Since huge funds have already been invested in these colleges with lot many hopes to see a real turnaround in the field of medical education in the UT , the academic sessions of the students, presently admitted in these colleges and other future batches on regular annual basis, having full fledged faculty staff is imperative which can never wait any longer, now. Agreed , only permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir can be appointed on district , division or state level posts but since either there was shortage of the available talent and candidates for these posts or those who can , but are not interested, the future of the students and the investment made in setting up of these colleges cannot be put at risk and afforded to be jeopardised any more. In other words, either deputations of faculty members on longer periods from other States/UTs have to be arranged or outright opportunities provided to non- domicile candidates getting appointed for the gazetted faculty posts but on academic arrangement basis, only.