Assistant professors in teaching hospitals cry foul

Those appointed on or after Nov.1, 2006, are being paid lesser basic pay than those appointed earlier

Health authorities themselves have called it an anomaly.

However, for 488 assistant professors appointed since 2006 and posted at various government teaching hospitals in Telangana and Rayalseema, the anomaly has become a cause of frustration.

The reason for their disappointment is because the assistant professors, appointed on or after November 1, 2006, are being paid lesser basic pay than those who got appointed before the same date.

At present, the basic pay of assistant professors appointed on or after November 1, 2006 is Rs.15,600 while those who joined prior to that have a basic pay of Rs.18,600.

Of the 488 assistant professors, nearly 350 are posted in teaching hospitals in Telangana while the rest are in Rayalaseema. Since 2006, several assistant professors on individual basis have approached authorities on a number of occasions highlighting the need for rectification of pay scales. “This is frustrating because we are losing out on financial benefits due to some discrepancy. We came to know that the Finance Department is delaying the release of funds,” doctors working in Gandhi and OGH alleged.

Director of Medical Education (DME), Dr. K. Vishnu Prasad, had written a letter, a copy of which is available with

The Hindu on August 17, 2012, to Principal Secretary, Health, Medical and Family Welfare, on the need to rectify anomalies in implementation of the revised UGC scales of 2006. “The pay fixation may be implemented for assistant professors appointed on or after November 1, 2006 as this procedure of fixation of pay scales is as per the UGC regulations. The financial burden to the government by rectifying the anomaly will be Rs.1,58,51,790 from the year 2006 till date,” the DME had stated in his letter.

“We are aware of the situation. Sooner or later the issue has to be rectified by the government. The issue is under consideration,” Dr. Vishnu Prasad said.

With a large number of assistant professors hailing form Telangana, Telangana Government Doctors Association also approached the Director of Medical Education and authorities requesting them the correct discrepancy.