Court stays move to cut 34 physiology posts in Maharashtra government medical colleges
The medical education department planned to trim physiology posts from 227 to 193 on NMC minimum norms; teachers' body opposed it and a court has stayed the move for now.
A decision to cut faculty posts in the physiology departments of Maharashtra's government medical colleges has been opposed by the Maharashtra State Medical Teachers' Association. For now, a court has stayed the decision.
Using the minimum norms of the National Medical Commission (NMC) as the basis, the medical education department decided to reduce the 227 posts in the old staffing pattern to 193. This means 34 fewer posts in the department and a cut of about 15 per cent in total manpower.
The old pattern sanctioned 227 posts for the physiology department: 39 professors, 72 associate professors and 116 assistant professors. The proposed new pattern provides for 38 professors, 58 associate professors and 97 assistant professors.
This means one post of professor, 14 posts of associate professor and 19 posts of assistant professor are being cut. A loss of 34 of 227 posts means roughly one in every seven sanctioned posts in the department goes.
The impact is greatest at the assistant professor level, where 116 posts fall to 97, a reduction of 19 posts or about 16.4 per cent. Of the 72 associate professor posts, 14 will go, a cut of about 19.4 per cent. One of the 39 professor posts is being cut.
The association says teachers in the older and larger government medical colleges do more than teach MBBS students. Besides teaching postgraduate, nursing, paramedical and other health course students, they also handle research, administrative work and academic duties linked to the hospital.
At hospitals attached to the colleges, OPD load, emergency services, investigations and bed occupancy are often higher than the NMC's minimum norms. The association says posts should not be fixed on minimum norms alone, and that each college's actual workload, student numbers, bed capacity, patient pressure, departmental services and research work should also be considered.
Dr Sameer Golawar, president of the association, said: "The government should study the actual workload of each medical college, the number of students and the hospital's services, college by college. Professors are involved not only in teaching but also in treating patients, clinical training, research and administrative work. So it is essential to assess the real need before cutting posts."
