Chronicles of Kanjisheik

great going! vivid description of jipmer's current state! dis's exactly wats running thru most of our minds... but y isn't da management taking some strong step??

Well, before we ask what the management is doing, i think we should ask what WE are doing?? Its WE who should be countering the false propaganada of the strikers. Yet, we dont. Its pitiable..

thanks tapas ,for highlighting the issue from a student's and a faculty member's perspective.
autonomy is a MUST for the JIPMER if it has to truely become an institute. presently it is a backwater central institute used for harrassing CGHS faculty and a blackmailing tool in the hands of the bureaucrats.
autonomy will give prestige and attract talent which really wants to stay and develop the institute ;and is not given a "KALA PANI "punishment

I would like to elucidate the issues surrounding the autonomy to JIPMER discussion in this blog.
JIPMER is considered a prestigious institution attracting best students from the southern states of India.
(A)From a students perspective; when a new entrant comes his/her aspirations are quite high and fulfilled also to a considerable extent by the institution. But what a student doesn’t know is that in spite of the standards being considered better than other known neighboring institutions he/she is not getting a deal that he deserves and is not of world standards simply because of administrative bottlenecks. Also:
1) There is a tremendous lack of faculty in critical basic sciences and in super specialties. This although not overt because of heroic efforts by the faculty members, causes hardship to the present faculty and compromises the standards.
2) There is a long loop of bureaucratic action leading to lesser flexibility in teaching patterns and curriculum. It becomes difficult to introduce newer concepts of teaching and the institute becomes a glorified replica of the common medical colleges. JIPMER should have been a leader and provided a model to rest of medical colleges and even the MCI.
Autonomy is a simple and powerful solution to the above problems.

(B) From the faculty’s perspective autonomy is again extremely beneficial as it protects them considerably from bureaucratic harassment and humiliation. Compulsory shifting of CGHS faculty to JIPMER results in a considerable drag upon the teaching quality of CGHS medical colleges and JIPMER also. This is because of the reasons that I have discussed earlier.
The faculty working in JIPMER gets CGHS scales which are ridiculously low according to today’s standards and market value. Post of Assistant professor as per the requirements entails studying, education and experience totaling minimum 15 years. He gets a CGHS salary of meager INR 23000/- pm. In AIIMS starting salary is approximately INR 39000/- when all allowances are added. Not to mention international experience provided and funding available. In private medical colleges, salary plus perks total more than 50000/- in present day scene.
Academically the JIPMER faculty is also disadvantaged as compared to AIIMS and PGIMER faculty. There is no emphasis on research or any benefit of hard work. Considerable stress is laid in the later two institutions upon the research publications, conferences and books etc at the time of recruitment and promotion, whereas, in JIPMER it is an automatic promotion system. There is less encouragement for research and a meager funding subject to tight red tapism.
The faculty here is either working towards transfer back to Delhi (at there family station) or is less integrated with society resulting in suboptimal teaching, patient care and instability. Few stable faculty members are overloaded with work and enticed by private institutions giving good salaries.
Autonomy will result in recruitment of faculty by an institutional board, selection of relatively stable local faculty (I am not encouraging localism but emphasizing practical approach), appropriate pay structure and emphasis on academics.

(C) Similarly patients of a large catchment area surrounding the JIPMER are subjected to hardships. These hapless people expecting better return for the taxpayer money expect good tertiary level care. An autonomous AIIMS like institute free from state/ central govt. clutches will provide an excellent referral center along with confidence to the population. Super specialty care is possible only if good salary to the DM and MCH people are given. They can’t be expected to work at INR 23000/- pm. Even the salaries of professors or associate professors are also not satisfactory and are peanuts.

(D) The administration here is weak in absence of autonomy along with a long bureaucratic process. Absence of faculty’s or students’ voices also is significant. The political parties are misguiding the employees due to their vested interests. It is also indicative of our political system where even good intentions and actions are opposed for paltry benefits. Anyhow intelligentsia and academic are nowhere to be heard in the whole drama. Maybe politicians have their own medical colleges in puducherry and don’t want JIPMER as a developed and shining institute providing excellent free/ subsidized medical care and eroding their own profit margins.
Autonomy is also another aspect of central govt. policy to improve medical education and care as is evidenced by sanctioning of large number of regional AIIMS like institutions.
Employees who are politicized and unionized and creating an environment of fear and intimidation should accept the practical reality. Any talks regarding availing of present or even more benefits can be done under autonomous institutes’ framework. The frog in the well mentality should be discarded and pragmatism encouraged to benefit all.

dear doctor,
i think that a joint statement by the faculty, residents and students' union ,supporting the JIPMER autonomy ,should be sufficient and mitigate any propaganda being done by the misguided staff.