Dearth of Assistant Professors in govt medical colleges

​Hyderabad: Normally staffing team structure in most of the organisations will be of pyramid shape to ensure work productivity but in case of Telangana Health department, it is a reverse pyramid. 

If we consider Directorate of Medical Education under which all government medical colleges in Telangana including Osmania, Gandhi, Kakatiya and ones in Nizamabad, Adilabad, Mahbubnagar fall, there is dearth of Assistant Professors due to no 
recruitment for nearly eight years. 

Usually in various departments in medical colleges, Assistant Professors (bottom level) are more in number. Then comes Associate Professors (second level) and the next position is of the prestigious Professor posts (Top level) who are comparatively less. 

This imbalance in teaching faculty is not only affecting teaching in medical colleges where Assistant professors take most of the classes for MBBS students, but it is also impacting health care and treatment in Osmania, Gandhi, Sarojini, Fever, Niloufer hospitals etc. where the same faculty discharge duties, according to doctors.

Recently, some sections have raised concerns on how government colleges and hospitals would be affected by the retirement of 35 odd professors this year and hence emphasis was laid on the extension of their services on a contract basis. As per the doctors, the shortage of Assistant Professors is also a serious problem and it should be addressed on a priority basis.

Same is the situation with number of Staff nurses and paramedical staff in government hospitals across Telangana where they say vacancies are more than 50 percent. What is not helping the situation is the legal hurdles that stalled the TSPSC recruitment process for Assistant Professors (nearly 270 posts) as well as Staff Nurses and Paramedical Staff (nearly 1200 posts). 

The notification for filling of these posts were released in the last quarter of 2017 and till date the process is unfinished. Objections were raised by some candidates on registration with medical council and senior resident conditions (as regards assistant professors) and marks weightage regarding nursing 
and paramedical posts that come under Directorate of Public Health and Family Welfare. 

TSPSC sources stated that they are reaching out to Health department and the concerned to get legal issues resolved to end the deadlock. Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association (HRDA) president Dr K Mahesh Kumar stated that they are clueless as to what is leading to delay in completing the recruitment process taken up by the TSPSC. 

He wanted constitution of a high-level committee, especially to deal with this issue and ensure all hurdles are cleared so that selected candidates are given posts be it of Assistant Professors or Staff Nurses or Paramedical staff. Dr B Narahari, Associate Professor, Paediatrics stated that Assistant Professors are like a backbone.

“It is the Assistant Professor who does night duties in hospitals as Associate Professors and Professors are exempted and most of the classes for MBBS students are allotted to Assistant Professors. Professors mostly are assigned PG students responsibilities. Not having Assistant Professors would not only affect Public Healthcare (in hospitals) but also impacts teaching in medical colleges,” he said.