“Due to the shortage of teachers, postgraduate students are taking classes of MBBS students.”—GMC Professor

Patiala: Quality of medical education in Patiala and Amritsar seems to have fallen to a crushing level; since due to severe faculty crunch, post-graduate medicos are reported to be teaching MBBS students in the city-based Government Medical Colleges, instead of certified medical professors.

According to a recent report by Tribune, more than 57 per cent of the medical teachers’ posts are lying vacant in these two medical colleges. Out of 628 posts in the two institutes, a whopping 358 are vacant.

Entry-level positions have the highest number of vacancies that is those of assistant professors with over 70 per cent of vacancy rate.

Professors: 49 posts vacant out of 154

Assistant Professors: 201 vacant out of 290 sanctioned posts

Associate Professors: 108 vacant out of 184 posts

75 per cent of the vacancies related to professors and associate professors are based on promotions of the teaching faculty. These positions don’t call for advertisements; however, they still continue to remain unfilled.

Read Also: GMC Patiala: 108 out 195 medical faculty positions lying vacant

Tribune discloses that there has been no recruitment of assistant professors, which is an entry-level post for the teaching faculty in medical education, since 15 May 2015.

Sharing about the predicaments that come along with the faculty shortage at medical colleges, one of the professors at Government Medical College, Patiala, requesting anonymity, said, “Due to the shortage of teachers, postgraduate students are taking classes of MBBS students. This arrangement, evidently, is a compromise with the quality of medical education.”

In the meantime, the Additional Chief Secretary, Health & Family Welfare, has confirmed that in the next one month, new assistant professor posts will be advertised. Moreover, the department has sent the file for the remaining promotions at the medical colleges.