DMER proposes to exempt MPS, MLAS from rural medical service

Three days after H reported how Dr Heena Gavi MP from Nandurbar district skipped her medical bond servi ces after being elected, the Direct orate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) said that they have approached the state government to allow elected representatives to skip bond services after completing their graduation and postgraduation exams.

The decision has raised a furore among the medical fraternity, that alleged discrimination between meritorious and politically-backed candidates.

On October 22, HT reported about the Right To Information (RTI) query, that authorities from Dr Gavit’s alma mater JJ Hospital answered. It said that

Gavit, MP from Nandurbar, skipped the services mentioned in the bond.

the hospital had handed over her original documents despite the fact that she did not adhere to the norms of medical education after completing her post-graduation.

Dr TP Lahane, Dean of JJ Hospital and Grant Medical College, had said that there is a government resolution in effect since 2009 that allows MPS, MLAS and MLCS to skip bond services after they have cleared their graduation or post graduate medical exams. Dr Pravin Shingare, DMER director, said, “We had written to government about it, four to five months back. But no such GR has been issued yet.”

Medical students and doctors’ associations objected the DMER move. Dr Jayesh Lele, president of the Indian Medical Association-maharashtra, said that the decision would cause grave injustice to students because of the battle over ‘no obligation to return to India’ (NORI) certificates being issued to doctors studying in the US.

“The government is training alternate medicine students to fill the vacant posts in rural medical centres, yet it allows candidates to skip rural services just because of political dreams?” asked Lele.

A former professor at University of Mumbai (MU) has moved Bombay high court (HC), after the university allegedly refused to compensate him for his two years of service.

Jose George, who was to retire from MU’S department of civics and politics in May 2014, had applied for a two-year extension in his tenure. However, with no clarity on the status of his application, he continued to work in the department for two more years, only to be told that his application was rejected.

After George applied for the extension in March 2014, a committee headed by then vicechancellor Rajan Welukar graded his performance. The confidential report (CR) submitted by the committee found his performance lacking in 2013-14, making him ineligible for the extension.

MA Khan, registrar, MU, said the state took more than a year to process George’s application and denied him an extension earlier this year. When George requested a review of his application, MU appointed another committee to take look at his CR. With the committee removing the poor grade from the report, another application was then submitted to the government, which was rejected in July, after a government resolution fixed the retirement age at 60. During this period, George continued to teach at MU. He said MU and the state deliberately delayed their response. “They never asked me to discontinue,” he said, adding that the poor CR was a result of his role in the teachers’ union.

Khan said, “The university has extended all the help to the professor,” he said.

The HC will hear the matter after the Diwali recess