Despite complaints from the Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association, no action has been taken to fill the vacancies so far.
Published Sep 06, 2024 | 8:00 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 26, 2024 | 2:49 PM
Representative image of a government medical college (Wikimedia Commons)
The posts of deans in several government-run medical colleges affiliated with the Dr MGR Medical University in Tamil Nadu are lying vacant, affecting the smooth functioning of the institutions.
Of the 38 colleges that come under the MGR university, 13 colleges do not currently have deans. Despite complaints from the Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association about delays in various administrative and executive decisions and about how it affects students’ education, no action has been taken to fill the vacancies so far.
Medical colleges across the state — Kilpauk (Chennai), Chengalpattu, Karur, Vellore, Madurai, Kallakurichi, Tiruchirapalli, Salem, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Pudukkottai, Kanniyakumari, and Theni — do not have deans.
In these colleges, due to a lack of deans, senior professors occasionally take on the role of acting principals to make executive decisions, which takes a significant amount of their time, affecting their ability to teach students effectively.
Government medical colleges in Karur and Madurai haven’t had deans since March and April this year respectively, since the retirement of then deans.
Usually, a committee is set up with the task of recommending three candidates for the position of dean whenever there is a vacancy. These suggestions are then sent to the government for approval.
Talking about the difficulties arising due to the vacancies in the Tamil Nadu government medical colleges to South First, Dr Rangasamy from the Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association said, “The absence of deans has disrupted administrative functions in colleges and delayed promotions of several senior medical professionals. This, in turn, has led to difficulties in patient care at hospitals, and also in renewing the accreditation and receiving approval from the National Medical Commission for the colleges.”
The Directorate of Medical Education is in-charge of forming a panel to decide who should be promoted including directors, deans, professors and specialists. These panels are supposed to be ready by March 15 each year. However, the delay in forming such panels is what has resulted in postponed promotions for senior positions.
Talking about the reasons behind the delay, sources told us that it might have been due to the Lok Sabha elections that were conducted in several phases across India and owing to the Model Code of Conduct in place.
Adding to the woes of government-run medical colleges, this has also led to a delay in the appointment of specialists ranging from assistant surgeons to DMS and DME experts, affecting healthcare at hospitals and primary health centres.
With the admission process for first-year students in medical colleges having begun and classes expected to start soon, there is an urgent need to fill the vacant dean positions to prevent further delays in college operations.
Additionally, appointing deans to all the government medical colleges where the posts are lying vacant is imperative in the context of the recent rape and murder of a junior doctor inside a hospital in Kolkata. To ensure the safety of students and doctors, enhanced security measures should be implemented in all medical colleges.
Authorities have said that lists of three candidate suggestions per college are being submitted to the government, and appointments can be expected to be made soon.
(Edited by Neena)
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