THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Doctors affiliated to the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association (KGMCTA) are planning to suspend teaching and regulate clinical services to protest against the government’s decision to transfer 61 faculty members to newly established medical colleges in Konni and Idukki. The KGMCTA members alleged the directorate of medical education’s decision to transfer the doctors with immediate effect was to hoodwink the National Medical Council before the inspection of new medical colleges in February.
According to the doctors, the stop-gap arrangement to address the faculty shortage at those two medical colleges will affect the academic process and patient care at the medical colleges in Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Thrissur and Kozhikode.
The KGMCTA members held a protest meeting in front of the directorate of medical education (DME) in Thiruvananthapuram and demanded clarity in the order within two days. “The order issued by DME lacks clarity on the duration of the transfer and the alternative arrangements in place. We will wait for two more days before deciding on suspending teaching,” said KGMCTA president Dr Rosenara Beegum.
She pointed out that even the doctors who received transfers recently after serving in difficult areas have been included in the latest transfer order.
The DME has been transferring faculty members from established medical colleges to new ones for last 15 years. The transfers are often temporary and meant only to meet the requirements of the National Medical Council during inspection. The transfer period usually lasts from two weeks to three months. The doctors were expecting the arrangement to be stopped this year after the government took the initiative to fill the vacancies of assistant professors. However, the transfers had to be repeated as the recruitment process was delayed.
Apart from physical verification of the site, the National Medical Council also inspects the biometric punching of the faculty members to ensure they are physically present in the college under inspection. A professor with the Government Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram said the government should invest in permanent faculty members at new medical colleges to ensure the quality of teaching in colleges under the DME.