17 AIIMS faculty members have quit in the last three years . (File)
With 17 faculty members quitting AIIMS in the last three years — including five in the last six months — the medical institute has recommended that the government revise its pay scale. However, the government, instead, has asked AIIMS to explain “on what basis” the earlier pay scale was allowed to its faculty members after the Sixth Central Pay Commission (CPC), and if the money paid to the faculty is based on the “UGC (university grants commission) scale”. “The government has asked if the pay scale is based on the UGC scale. But AIIMS doesn’t come under the UGC and functions autonomously under the Act of Parliament. The pay grade for the faculty has been above the UGC scale throughout,” said a senior official at AIIMS.
The Health Ministry’s query on pay scale comes after the institute had formed a committee, in February, to recommend implementation of a revised pay scale to the ministry. In the minutes of meeting, accessed by The Indian Express, the committee, which also included the AIIMS director, highlighted the problems of “unattractive pay at the institute” as the reason behind the exits. “As a professional medical practitioner, the working hours are much longer and stressful than civil services. The market economy in India has changed the earning patterns of doctors in private practice. It has become difficult to retain high caliber faculties for patient care, teaching and research at AIIMS,” the minutes of the meeting said.
However, the Department of Expenditure (DoE), through the Health Ministry, instead sought replies on contentious issues, namely: “On what basis were these pay scales allowed after the 6th CPC and whether approval of DoE was sought? If so, the relevant paper may be provided.”
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“Are the scales based on UGC scales? If so, whether at the time of the 6th CPC, revised UGC scales were adopted and, if so, the details may be provided.”
“What is the additional financial impact, and what is the quantum of additional funds required?”
The AIIMS faculty termed this communication “strange”. “The first two queries raise serious doubts whether the ministry is serious about the exits in the institute. The basis of pay after the 6th CPC was done 10 years ago. And now they are asking if it was done with the approval of the Ministry. The institute has sent the clarification but it is unfortunate that that no information has been received by us regarding the implementation of 7th CPC,” a senior member of the AIIMS faculty said.
The 7th CPC recommendations are yet to be implemented for the AIIMS faculty, though it has come into force for group B,C and D employees. To counter exits of professor-level faculty at AIIMS, the committee has recommended that 40 per cent of professors be made senior professors; and 10 per cent of senior professors be promoted as well.
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“The senior professor scale was introduced… to avoid frustration of the senior-most faculties as they get no promotion for 15-20 years and it becomes unattractive to stay at AIIMS,” the minutes of the committee’s meetings stated. Union Health Secretary C K Mishra did not respond to calls seeking a comment.
Meanwhile, government says ‘file missing’
On Tuesday, senior officials at AIIMS held a meeting with Ministry of Health and Family Welfare officials, during which it emerged that the file regarding the approval of 6th Central Pay Commission scale, granted by the Centre to the institute, is “reportedly missing”.
“Faculty association of AIIMS (FAIIMS) had a meeting with Joint Secretary, Health. Questions were raised as to how 6th CPC was implemented without the approval of the Department of Expenditure. However, the official said the file from the DoE is missing from the health ministry,” Dr Nand Kumar, general secretary, FAIIMS, said.
Documents accessed by The Indian Express showed that a letter dated December 31, 2008 — written by the Centre on the “revision of pay scale of faculty of autonomous institutions of medical education”, and addressed to AIIMS and four other national institutes — had been forwarded to the Secretary, DoE.
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17 AIIMS faculty members have quit in the last three years . (File)
