Congress MP Highlights “Staggering” Vacancies, Calls for Urgent Government Action
New Delhi, February 5: Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the alarming faculty shortages at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) institutions across India, calling the vacancy levels “staggering.”
Taking to social media platform X, Ramesh cited figures revealed in a recent response to a Rajya Sabha question, emphasizing the urgent need for government intervention.
AIIMS Institutions Facing Critical Faculty Shortages
“Yesterday, an answer to a question asked in the Rajya Sabha of the Minister of Health & Family Welfare revealed a most disturbing statistic relating to the seven fully operational AIIMS institutions in the country,” Ramesh wrote.
He shared vacancy rates for AIIMS New Delhi, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Raipur, Patna, and Rishikesh, noting that faculty shortages ranged from 24% to 39% in these premier medical institutes.
Additionally, he pointed out even more severe faculty shortages in partially operational AIIMS-like institutions across twelve cities, where vacancies were as high as 59.5% in Rajkot and 54% in Bilaspur.
Concerns Over Faculty Quality and Recruitment
Ramesh not only highlighted the severe faculty shortages but also raised concerns about the quality of faculty recruitment across AIIMS institutions.
“Quality of faculty apart—although questions have been raised about it—the extent of vacancies in faculty positions is staggering,” he said.
Expressing surprise at the state of AIIMS New Delhi, India’s most prestigious medical institution, he urged the Union Health Minister to make this issue a top priority without compromising on recruitment standards.
“The health minister must give this the highest priority without diluting standards,” Ramesh asserted.
Health Ministry’s Response: “Recruitment is a Continuous Process”
The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, in its response to the Rajya Sabha, defended the recruitment process, stating that the creation and recruitment of faculty positions is an ongoing process.
“In order to expeditiously fill vacant sanctioned positions in various AIIMS, steps have been taken by the Government,” the ministry stated.
To address vacancies, the ministry listed several initiatives:
- Centralized Nursing Officer Recruitment Common Eligibility Test (NORCET)
- Common Recruitment Examination (CRE) for Group B and C non-faculty positions
- Institute of National Importance Combined Entrance Test (INI-CET) and Super Speciality (INI-SS) for Junior and Senior Residents
Growing Concerns Over India’s Medical Education System
Despite these measures, concerns persist regarding AIIMS faculty recruitment and the impact of shortages on medical education, patient care, and research quality.
Ramesh’s statements add to the growing pressure on the Union Health Ministry to expedite faculty hiring while maintaining high academic and professional standards.
With AIIMS institutions playing a crucial role in India’s healthcare system, experts believe that resolving faculty shortages should be a top government priority to ensure world-class medical education and healthcare services.