AIIMS Rajkot fares the worst, where only 40 of the 183 sanctioned posts have been filled
On the student-teacher ratio in these institutes, AIIMS Bilaspur has a good balance of 2:1. Photo: iStock. Some 157 medical colleges have been sanctioned in three phases to improve the strength of India’s healthcare workforce and reduce geographical disparities in the availability of resources, the health ministry said in a written response to a Parliament question December 9, 2022. Ninety four of them are currently operational, the ministry added.
In complete contrast, data shared by the health ministry while answering another question the same day revealed almost half of the sanctioned posts are vacant in 18 of the newly created All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS).
Imtiaz Jaleel, a Lok Sabha member from Aurangabad, raised this dichotomy in Parliament December 9, calling out the government’s “hypocritical behaviour”
when it resorts to mass transfer of faculty members to escape regular inspections by the Medical Council of India.
Also read: Why Indian students need to go abroad to study medicine
The medical colleges will be set up on a fund-sharing basis between the Centre and state governments; a ratio of 90:10 for northeastern and special category states and a 60:40 ratio for others.
“As per the scheme guidelines, the state government is the implementing agency and the planning, execution and commissioning of the projects is to be done by the state government,” the ministry noted in its answer.
Release of funds under the scheme is based on pace of expenditure, release of corresponding state share and receipt of Utilisation Certificates, as well as demand from State/UT Government, it added.
In Phase one, 58 medical colleges at the cost of Rs 10,962 crore will be built in 20 states, including Assam, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, have been approved. Only six of them are yet to be functional.
In Phase two, 24 medical colleges worth Rs 6,000 crore in eight states have been approved. Some 14 of them are currently functional. In Phase three, 75 medical colleges worth Rs 24370.41 crore in 18 states have been approved, of which only 29 are functional as of now.
Other efforts being undertaken by the government to augment medical education facilities include Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) to upgrade existing state government/central government medical colleges to increase the number of MBBS and PG seats, constructing Super Speciality Blocks to upgrade medical colleges — 75 such projects are currently underway — and 22 new AIIMS where undergraduate courses have begun in 19 of them.
While these efforts are commendable, they will not achieve the intended fruition until the faculty vacancy issue is resolved first. AIIMS Rajkot fares the worst, where only 40 of the 183 sanctioned posts have been filled. At AIIMS Gorakhpur, 105 of the 183 sanctioned posts remain vacant.
Other poor performing institutions include AIIMS Vijaypur —107 of 183 sanctioned posts are vacant — AIIMS Raebareli — 101 of 183 sanctioned posts are vacant — AIIMS Guwahati — 104 of the 183 sanctioned posts are vacant — and AIIMS Patna — 151 of the 183 sanctioned posts are vacant.
On the student-teacher ratio in these institutes, AIIMS Bilaspur has a good balance of 2:1, followed by AIIMS Bhubaneswar (2.34:1) and AIIMS Jodhpur (2.97:1).
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