NEW DELHI: Vacancies in faculty member positions are as high as 78 per cent at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rajkot, where only 40 doctors are currently employed against the sanctioned strength of 183, according to data shared by Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharti Pravin Pawar.
The average vacancy in faculty positions across the 18 AIIMS, other than the first centre in Delhi, stands at 45.7 per cent. The least number of vacant positions is 74 (24.26 per cent) at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, according to the data.
“Adequate faculty posts have been sanctioned by the government for all newly created AIIMS for teaching MBBS students,” the minister said in a written reply in Parliament.
She said a standing selection committee has been set up at each of the new AIIMS to facilitate filling of posts. The upper age limit for direct recruitment against the posts of professor and additional professor has been raised from 50 years to 58 years and permission has been granted for taking serving faculty from other Government medical colleges on deputation basis.
Contractual hiring of retired faculty from Government medical colleges up to the age of 70 years, appointment of overseas citizens of India and diversion of staff between the departments has been allowed to ensure adequate staffing, said the minister. The student-teacher ratio is best at AIIMS Bilaspur, with one teacher for every two students, and the worst is at AIIMS Gorakhpur, where there is one teacher for every 5.4 students, according to the data.
