Bengaluru: Hundreds of the teaching faculty selected for the six new medical colleges which were denied permission by the Medical Council of India (MCI) are now caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. The State government is not ready to transfer them to the medical colleges which are facing a staff crunch as they say a transfer is not allowed in the first five years of service as per the transfer policy. The college deans/ medical superintendents want these lecturers to work as doctors in the colleges.
This is not acceptable to the faculty as they say they need a minimum of three months training for the same.
With the idea of having more government MBBS seats for the CET students, the state had proposed six new medical colleges at Gulbarga, Koppal, Gagad, Chamarajnagar, Karwar and Coorg. As per the MCI rules, it appointed the necessary teaching faculty in all these colleges in the month of May. But the MCI has declined to permit these colleges to admit students from this academic year stating that the colleges didn't have independent buildings. As a result these lecturers are now facing a dilemma.
According to the teaching faculty who wished to remain anonymous, the non-clinical faculty are being directed to take up clinical work like autopsy, attending emergency and outpatient facility, etc. "The fact is, that the non-clinical faculty have very little working experience in these fields. Still, we are being forced to do it. We haven’t done this kind of work since we took up higher studies after completing MBBS. It is ridiculous," said a professor.
No transfer: according to the teaching faculty, all the 10 state-run medical colleges are facing an acute shortage of teaching staff and they can be either transferred or sent on deputation. But the officials are not ready to do this. "All the state-run medical colleges are facing a faculty shortage. We are ready to go on deputation. But instead of that we are forced to sit idle or take up work which is not as per our training and experience. We want the state government to intervene immediately," said another faculty member.
According to officials from the state medical education department, they are well aware of the situation and as per them all the problems would be rectified soon.
