TN: Govt to define difficult and remote years for incentive marks

Chennai: Taking the issue of qualifying institutes and areas where practice would make eligible doctors for in-service incentives marks in PG examination, the state government is now in the process of demarking the difficult and remote areas for the same.

As per media reports, a six-member Committee, headed by Chairman, P Umanath, Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation, charting out a list of difficult and remote areas is going to submit its report to Health Secretary, J Radhakrishnan on Tuesday.

TOI reports that a steep fall may occur in the inclusion of primary health centres offering incentives to in-service candidates seeking PG medical seats, presently, though some district headquarters hospitals and a few difficult postings in medical college hospitals that were never on the remote and difficult areas list, may be included.

P. Umanath while explaining the method used for chalking out difficult and remote areas said that “hybrid” methods were applied based on terrain, reach and kind of work. He, however, refused to reveal the number of institutions on the list.

A 101 PG seats additions are to be made this academic year across 14 government medical colleges, raising the total seats to 1,585 and allocating 50% to the all-India quota.

In 2017, this admission process got entangled in battles in the Madras High Court leading to delays and admission cancellations, as well. The state had made a 50% seat allocation to the all-India quota and reserved the other half for government doctors.

Government doctors in difficult or remote regions were given three incentive marks for every year of service, while PHC appointees got an additional two marks. The court, however, had struck these incentives down saying government staff was not entitled to reservation.

According to a senior health department official, except for a few select medical college hospital positions, no other medical college would find a place on the difficult and remote area list.

“We don’t want MBBS students or diploma holders to work in medical colleges. If we have PGs it will keep the institution better placed when seeking additional seats from MCI. Also, if these people leave the college after they get admissions we have to fill in the seats,” he told TOI.