The territorial administration is set to approach the Union Ministry of Health and Family shortly for getting approval for MBBS courses offered by its prestigious institution — Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Research Institute (IGGMCRI).
Last April, the Medical Council of India (MCI) had recommended to the Union government against granting approval to the State-owned IGGMCRI for student admissions. The MCI also cited the inadequate faculty as the main reason.
Following this, the government was at the receiving end from political opponents for allegedly not taking adequate measures to avoid the current predicament. The IGGMCRI, which was started in 2010, had applied for approval to start admission to MBBS courses. Following their annual inspection, the MCI had written to the Centre, asking it not to grant approval to the college for admissions to the academic year. To rectify the shortage of faculty, IGGMCRI issued a notification inviting applications for the posts of Associate Professor and Assistant Professor fulfilling the MCI regulations of minimum qualification for teachers in Medical Institutions, Regulations 1998. There are 66 posts remaining vacant in the college.
Rakesh Chandra, Health Secretary, told The Hindu that the government has made efforts to recruit teaching faculties.
“We have already issued notification inviting applications for recruitment of professors. Before the Lok Sabha elections, the candidates were shortlisted. Now from June 4, we will be conducting interviews for them. The recruitment process will be over by June 10.”
He added that once the appointment was over by June 10, we will approach the Union Ministry with compliance report for approval.
“There won’t be any delay in the student admission which will be held as scheduled,” said Mr. Chandra.
