The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Elgibility criteria for appointment of Deans challenged

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 08, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Elgibility criteria for appointment of Deans challenged

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, APRIL 7. A Government Order diluting the eligibility criteria for the appointment of Deans in Government medical colleges in the State, with retrospective effect from March 2003, has been challenged in the Madras High Court.

Admitting the writ petition filed by the Doctors Welfare Association of Tamil Nadu, Justice P.D. Dinakaran, issued notice to the Government.

According to the petitioner, the Government, following the recommendations of the Medical Council of India, brought forth certain amendments for such appointments in 1996. It was in force till 2001, when it diluted the rules further. There was an uproar from doctors and cases came to be filed in the Tamil Nadu Administrative Tribunal and they are still pending. In July 2004, the Government further relaxed the eligibility criteria, "that too with retrospective effect of more than a year from March 2003." According to the impugned order, experience in posts like tutor and assistant professor are to be reckoned as teaching experience, and the minimum experience as professor was reduced to four from five, which can also be in the capacity of reader/additional professor/associate professor. Describing the relaxation as being "patently repugnant" to the MCI regulations, the petitioner prayed for the quashing of the impugned GO and to direct the Government to make appointments to the posts of Deans in Government medical colleges only in conformity with the qualification and experience prescribed under the MCI regulations.

Alleging that the Health Department was taking "hasty steps" to appoint certain persons as Deans, the petitioner-association also prayed for an interim stay on such appointments.

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