THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Health Department’s move to give PG service quota for the doctors in the co-operative and self-financing medical colleges has triggered a controversy with the doctors working in the government hospitals coming out with strong protest against the move.
Though the department has not yet taken a final decision in this regard, the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association (KGMCTA) and Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) have criticised any proposal in this regard as it would lessen only the chances of the gGovernment doctors in getting the preference for admission to the PG courses.
However, Health Min-ister P K Sreemathi has said that the gov- ernment is considering the pro- posal since the PG seats in the State have been doubled by the Medical Council of India. Hence there is no point in claiming that this would lessen the chances of doctors who are already in the Government service.
But the KGMCTA beg to differ on this. “The PG service quota was reinstated only last year. Hence already four years of backlog are pending in the medical education service. All these doctors will have to be accommodated for the PG courses first,” said Dr Sadarudheen Ahmed, state secretary, KGMCTA.
Now the government is trying to accommodate the doctors from the co-operative and self-financing medical colleges in the quota allotted for the doctors serving in the medical colleges, which will not be allowed, he said.
The KGMCTA has warned of severe agitation if the Health Department goes ahead with the decision to give service quota for the co-operative and private medical college doctors.
“The doctors in the co-operative and self-financing colleges are not appointed from the PSC list but according to the whims and fancies of the managements. Hence the Government cannot give quota for the doctors employed here,” said Dr Sadarudheen.
The service quota for the postgraduate courses was reinstated only last year, which was a long pending demand of the KGMOA. “One of the major demands during the strike by the KGMOA last year was revoking the service quota for the doctors in the Government service. But the Government proposal to give preference to the doctors from other medical colleges for the PG courses is not acceptable for us,” said Dr Syam Sunder, state secretary, KGMOA.