CHENNAI: Five merit marks will be given to doctors who worked during Covid-19 in the Medical Services Recruitment Board (MRB) exam conducted last April. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday at the Kalaignar Centenary Super Specialty Hospital on the King Institute campus in Guindy, health minister Ma Subramanian said over 25,000 doctors wrote the MRB exam for 1,021 assistant surgeon posts and the results are awaited. After discussions with the Chief Minister, it has been decided to give five merit marks to doctors who worked with government departments during Covid-19 for not less than two years, he said.
The health minister said merit marks will also be given to government pharmacists, health inspectors and other health workers who worked during Covid-19. Incentive marks were also given during the recruitment of doctors for 500 health and wellness centres, Subramanian said.
Around 14 doctors (Covid-19 medical officers) had filed a case in Madras High Court seeking preference to be given to them in MRB recruitment. The results are delayed as the recruitment board is finalising the answers for the qualifying language paper as many of the answers were found to be subjective and required re-vetting by Tamil language experts.
‘Giving merit marks is not fair, will affect other doctors’
For the first time, Tamil Eligibility Test was conducted for assistant surgeon posts after Tamil Nadu government made Tamil language paper mandatory for recruitment to government services. Meanwhile, another set of doctors who also wrote the MRB exam had opposed the idea of awarding merit marks to doctors for Covid duty.
The doctors said giving such merit marks in MRB recruitment is not fair and it will affect other doctors’ chance of getting into government service. A senior health department official said this was a policy decision of the government.