Govt docs sent on deputation, some to 3 hosps on same days

Nagpur: In a bizarre but routine practice to handle the medical teacher crisis, and save UG and PG seats in government medical colleges (GMCs), the Directorate of Medication Education and Research (DMER) has once again sent 17 teachers from GMCH Nagpur to VNGMCH Yavatmal. Three departments of the Yavatmal college will be facing National Medical Commission (NMC) inspection in the next few days.
With this, 85 teachers in Nagpur GMCH are on deputation now. Interestingly, DMER has given 2 or 3 deputations at a time to many teachers, show their own letters. As a result, the immediate effect is that GMCH Nagpur is short of 85 teachers now. Secondly, there are some teachers who have been sent on deputation to different colleges at the same time.
For example, Dr Atul Rajkondawar, associate professor shouldering additional charge of medical superintendent (MS) of the hospital, has been sent to Yavatmal as well as Miraj GMCH on deputation at the same time. This means, Dr Rajkondawar is expected to remain present in Yavatmal GMCH when the NMC team is in that college for inspection and he must be present at Miraj GMCH too when the team reached Miraj.
Over and above this, both these deputation arrangements are temporary, and his primary location remains Nagpur, which means he has to look after Nagpur’s work too. There are several professors like Dr Rajkondawar in the state.
DMER officials refused to comment on the development, terming it as an administrative arrangement and said there was nothing new in it. A senior official said this system is in place since years and such adjustments are must if the colleges are to continue the PG seats.
“After all, these professors and teachers are government servants and they can be sent on deputation to fulfill the condition of availability of teaching staff at the medical college. Once inspection is over, they come back to their original stations,” the official said.
But this is an academic loss for the students in small government medical colleges like Gondia, Chandrapur and now Yavatmal. The students in GMCH also face problems for the time being.