Hyderabad: The shortage of additional Deputy Medical Education Officers (DMEs) is affecting the work in medical colleges and teaching hospitals in the state. Many institutions are being run by in-charge officials because there are not enough full-time additional DMEs.
The state government has set up 34 medical colleges, and each college is attached to a teaching hospital. Normally, senior officials who are additional DMEs are appointed as principals of the colleges and superintendents of the hospitals.
However, the state needs 68 additional DMEs to manage all these institutions. Currently, only 64 posts have been approved by the government, but no appointments have been made yet. As a result, in-charge superintendents and principals are managing these institutions. Right now, only 17 officials are working as additional DMEs in the entire state.
Officials say the government has increased the retirement age of professors from 60 to 65 years. But the retirement age for administrative staff, like additional DMEs, is still 60 years. This has delayed regular promotions for additional DMEs. A professor from a teaching hospital mentioned that they had raised this issue with the government. The government promised to discuss it in the Assembly and even increased the retirement age to 65 years. However, six months have passed since the bill was passed, and no further action has been taken. Although a seniority list has been released, there has been no progress in making appointments.
The in-charge principals and superintendents are finding it difficult to make important decisions because they are not regular additional DMEs. They are forced to send every report to the Director of Medical Education (DME), who then forwards it to the government for approval, causing delays. Some in-charge officials are also not interested in the extra responsibilities, as they feel it hinders their main duties.
