Row Over Govt Move to Extend DME Service

With the Director of Medical Education's tenure to end this month, the government's move to give extension for another two more years has led to wide criticism, with many see it as a prelude to the government's attempt to increase the retirement age of teachers in the Medical Education Service.

It is also alleged that the government that shows much enthusiasm in giving extension to the existing higher officials, it has not shown interest in making any new recruitment. Already a list of doctors, of which 900 have specialty qualification, is pending and is alleged that the PSC was ready to fill the posts within two weeks if the Directorate of Medical Education had notified the posts.

Pressure is alleged be mounting on the government as well as the health department for extending the period of the DME. However, sources said that if the extension was given, it would only create an unnecessary precedence. The move is also seen as a prelude to the government's intention to increase the retirement age in the Medical Education Service to 62.

Meanwhile Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association (KGMCTA), which has always stood against increasing the pension age, said that they vehemently opposed any such move. ''The Association opposes the retirement age or extension of service of any individual or in general,'' KGMCTA general secretary Dr C P Vijayan said. Moreover, he also pointed out that the seven long years of the present DME was not fruitful.

However, officials in the health department said that there was no such pressure for extending the DME's tenure. They said that the DME can continue till the end of the academic year. But it is said that there was no superannuation as the post was only an administrative one and not academic. 

Source< The New Indian Express

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/381029/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/24-11-2014#page/4/1

 

Service Extension to Docs a financial strain

At a time the Oommen Chandy government has come out with various measures to tide over the present financial crisis,  the extension of service of as many as 50 doctors in the Health Service by six months is alleged to be draining the state exchequer. 

The government is paying out a crore per month for the doctors who are at the verge of retirement and who are on extended service when hundreds of doctors are in waiting in the PSC list, which has been pending for a long time.

Those who are at the verge of retirement and the others whose extension period is almost over draws a salary of about Rs 1.50 to Rs 1.75 lakh per month, which means that the state pays out about Rs 75 lakh to Rs 80 lakh. When these doctors are paid such a huge amount, the entry level salary is Rs 40,000.

Officials point out that it is a paradox that the service of the doctors, who are paid highly, are being extended even when the government is talking of bold steps to tide over the financial crisis.  The government had even hiked water charges and removed the existing caps on stamp duty and registration fee, thereby projecting an additional revenue of more than Rs 2,000 crore. Though the salary that is given to the doctors when their service is extended is minimal, it can also add to the revenue of the state, they added.

They also noted that there was no justification in extending the service of the doctors at a time when the government is for stringent measures to tide over the crisis. Even it was decided that the ministers would not take 20 per cent of  their salary until the end of this fiscal. Restrictions have also been imposed on foreign trips of ministers. 

Source: the New Indian Express

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/341586/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/20-09-2014#page/4/1