Srinagar, Feb 14: The medical colleges in Jammu and Kashmir, excluding the new ones, face delay in implementation of phase second of the three-tier faculty system which has stalled promotions and recruitment for the past two years.
J&K had a four-tier faculty system that is Lecturer, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor, unlike the three-tier system Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor which is followed in the rest of India.
A senior faculty member of GMC Srinagar said after years of pursuing the case, the Jammu and Kashmir Government finally agreed to change the 4-tier system of faculty into 3-tier system in both the medical and dental colleges across Jammu and Kashmir.
He said that notably the Finance Department had also agreed to implement the 3 tier system of faculty in two phases in view of the financial burden.
“The first phase of the 3 tier system was implemented last year where in the Lecturer posts were abolished and the posts were re-designated as Assistant Professors,” he said.
However, the much-awaited second phase is not being implemented, resulting in further stagnation of faculty and no new recruitment of new faculty.
The 3 tier system already exists in peripheral (new) medical colleges of Jammu and Kashmir and has been recently implemented in dental colleges Indira Gandhi Government Dental, Jammu and Government dental College, Srinagar.
“We request the government to issue the orders for the implementation of the 2nd phase of the 3 tier system so that more posts are created in Associate professor and Professor categories,” the faculty member said.
He also said the move will address the issue of faculty stagnation to some extent and pave the way for the recruitment of new faculty by the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (J&KPSC) which is also withheld for the want of 2nd phase of 3 tier system for the last two years.
However, a senior official at GMC Srinagar said the matter about the second phase of the 3 tier system lies with the Finance Department. “It is a genuine concern. It is under process, once the financial concurrence comes it will be implemented,” he said.
The official said that once it is implemented it will help the medical colleges to increase the pool of senior faculty members which will help them to have more seats for post-graduation and further improve medical education.
