Amir Tantray
Jammu, May 9: The health of Government Medical College (GMC) Doda seems to be on the ventilator as it is facing acute shortage of permanent faculty members including professors, associate professors and assistant professors.
Even the most important medicine department is being run by medical officers on deputation from the health department as there is no permanent faculty available.
The college is facing an acute shortage of faculty members which is taking a toll on the overall education system and functioning of the institution.
Highly placed sources in the GMC Doda said that the medical education department hasn’t done enough to address the issues concerning the college which is evident from the fact that higher officials haven’t taken a single review meeting regarding the college separately.
To put the facts straight, KNO has learned that GMC Doda is facing a deficiency of over 85 percent of Professors and there is over 60 percent deficiency of Associate professors. “Besides professors and Associate professors, which are important pillars to run different departments, there is over 50 percent deficiency of assistant professors as well and the college is being run by senior resident and junior resident doctors,” a source said.
Giving further details, the source revealed, “There is no permanent faculty in the departments of Medicine, Anatomy and Community Medicine whereas in the departments of Anesthesia and Radiology the situation is worse as there are either single faculty member or no faculty available.”
The departments like Medicines, Ophthalmology, ENT and Gynecology, medical officers of health department, who are on deputation to GMC Doda, are running these departments. “The radiology department is being run by one faculty member (Assistant professor) with the help of SRs, department of Forensic sciences have only one assistant professor available and has to look after the college as well as mortuary and other related things and psychiatry department has one assistant professor and that too on adhoc basis.”
With the recent issue of transfer of Principal Dr. Puja Vimesh, the college is being run without a principal. Making things worse, there is no permanent Administrative Officer (AO) and in the past few KAS officers, working as block development officers in rural development, were given the additional charge of AO and they haven’t been able to give attention towards GMC Doda.
The GMC Doda was established after the union government in 2014 announced the setting up of five new medical colleges in Jammu and Kashmir and Doda was one among them. After hectic efforts the first batch of GMC Doda was started in the year 2019, one year late as compared to other four medical colleges established alongside it. The first batch of MBBS students will complete their fourth year in 2024 whereas the first batch in other colleges will graduate this year. (KNO)
