Medical professors retirement age hiked

Hyderabad: Even as the teaching staff in the rank of assistant professors working in government medical colleges are strongly opposing the move to increase the retirement age of professors, the Telangana government on Friday announced the increase of retirement age of professors from the present 58 to 65.

Health Minister Eatala Rajender said that on the instructions of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, the government finalised the decision to increase the long-pending issue of the retirement age of professors and orders would be issued to this effect at the earliest.

The government had put forward the proposal to increase the retirement age limit of the Professors in May 2018 but the assistant professors working in government medical colleges strongly opposed the move.

The agitating teaching staff stalled the classes and threatened to go on an indefinite strike. The government relented and put on hold its decision on the contentious issue.

In the backdrop of this, the minister said that required measures will be taken to ensure that the government does not face any legal hurdle in the implementation of the decision now.

He said the seats in the existing medical colleges will be increased to meet the growing demand for the doctors to serve in villages.

Steps will also be taken to enhance the bed capacity in every government medical college.

Stating that at least one medical college will be opened in every district soon, Rajender ruled out the inclusion of private maternity hospitals in the implementation of KCR Kits scheme under which the government is supplying cosmetics to the newly born babies and also financial benefits to the delivered mothers in the state run hospitals.

The minister said the health infrastructure will also be strengthened in the tribal areas to check the growing cases of communicable diseases.