The Jammu and Kashmir government has created just 14 posts of nurses each for five new medical colleges as against the requirement of 175 as per the Medical Council of India guidelines, leading to fears that the central regulatory body may decline approval to much-anticipated 500 MBBS seats for the State for upcoming academic session.
A source told Greater Kashmir that in October 2017, the government created 3375 posts of faculty, paramedics, technical and administrative staff for five new medical colleges (675 per-college).
These included 14 posts of nurses for each college, the source in the health and medical education department told Greater Kashmir.
The MCI has set a minimum requirement of 175 nurses for a medical college with an intake capacity of 100 students.
“It is surprising that the government hasn’t adhered to this minimum standard fixed by the MCI,” the source said, adding that “with this gross negligence, it has jeopardised the chances MCI approval to addition of 500 MBBS seats in the State.”
While the recruitment process for a handful of 3375 posts created is underway, a major chunk of the vacancies is yet to be advertised and filled up.
“Though the government has said that making the five new medical colleges functional was its priority, the situation on ground belies the claim,” the source said.
“The government is in the process of filling up posts of assistant professors in these medical colleges, but senior faculty—including associate professors and professors—is yet be recruited,” the H&ME department official said.
While the advertisement notifications for these positions—to be filled on academic arrangement—had been issued, the government is yet to make the amendments regarding the retirement age thereof to pave way for a “sustainable model” to run these colleges.
“Hundreds of positions of paramedical, technical and administrative staff, as well as junior-level teaching positions of tutor and demonstrator, are vacant yet,” the official said.
In order to get a letter of permission from the MCI, these positions need to be filled up in the next couple of months, a senior official in the health and medical education department said.
Commissioner secretary, health and medical education department, Atal Dulloo said there was “some mistake” in the creation of posts of nurses.
“It would be rectified soon,” he said, adding that the government was mulling to hire nurses on academic arrangement “immediately” to pave way for approval from the MCI.
Each medical college would be attached to a 100-bedded district hospital, where, however, the staff strength requires to be augmented at the earliest, another official said.
On Wednesday, a high-level team of officials which inspected the preparedness of Anantnag medical college for MBBS classes from coming academic session underlined the urgency of meeting the basic minimum criteria in terms of staff for getting a go-ahead from the central regulatory body.