Ahmedabad: Medical professor promoted 17 yrs after his death

AHMEDABAD: The state health department has issued orders of promotion on ad hoc basis with retrospective effect to 17 professors and assistant professors at government medical colleges on July 8. Shockingly, one of the promoted teachers died in 2005, while 11 others retired a decade ago. What is more ironic is that these teachers for the last two decades were saying that they are eligible for regular promotion but the government promoted them yet again on ad hoc basis.
The promoted teachers include six professors and 11 assistant professors. The department order issued to Dr A O Girdhar, professor at BJ Medical College (BJMC), states that he was promoted on 'temporary ad hoc basis' as professor of pharmacology on December 20, 2003, and has now been promoted on 'ad hoc basis' in the same college with retrospective effect. Sources said Girdhar, after serving 15 years at BJMC, died in 2005.
Dr S L Pagi, who retired as professor of gynaecology from Baroda Medical College (BMC) in Vadodara 15 years ago, was issued two promotion orders with retrospective effect. In one order he has been promoted as associate professor on 'temporary ad hoc basis' with effect from November 23, 1995. In the other order, Dr Pagi has been promoted to professor 'on ad hoc basis' with effect from June 26, 2008.
Sources said these teachers have been demanding regular promotion for 20-25 years and had even held protests. According to sources, these teachers even met health ministers multiple times to make representations. Some of these teachers, after retiring from government colleges, served as teachers and heads of private medical colleges in the state and retired from there too. The teachers who have already retired and have been promoted include Dr V P Hathila, professor and head of surgery department, BMC; Dr S S Vyas, professor of surgery, BJMC; Dr J D Bhatt, pharmacologist at BMC; Dr V N Swadia, professor of anaesthesia at BJMC; Dr R K Bakshi, associate professor of preventive medicine, BMC.
Gujarat Congress spokesman Manish Doshi said this gaffe exposes the mismanagement of the health department. "The government promoted medical teachers on ad hoc basis in 1995, 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2003 as there was no recruitment through the Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC). This also exposes that the government has failed to create a system of promoting medical college teachers," Doshi said in a statement.