Restore 15 CLs, demand MGIMS post graduate students

NAGPUR: The post graduate students (PGs) at Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS), Sewagram, are protesting reduction in their casual leaves from 15 to 8 by the college administration. The PGs have joined Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) to press their demands but the students claim despite repeated communications and meetings, the college authorities as well as the officials of the Kasturba Health Society (KHS) that runs the autonomous college are not recognizing them as a union.
MARD president of the college Dr Amit Singh told TOI that medical education minister Girish Mahajan’s OSD as well as state’s director of medical education and research (DMER) Dr Pravin Shingare held a meeting with MGIMS’s MARD office bearers during the winter session of legislature at Nagpur and assured that the students would be granted same number of leaves as students of other medical colleges in the state.
“As per the Medical Council of India (MCI), the colleges are expected to follow the state government rules which means we should get 14 days causal leave and 24 days special leave as per rules. But administration through an order dated June 8, 2016 (number CC1547) arbitrarily reduced the leaves from 15 we used to get to eight. Administration has refused to accept our request of restoring the leaves. Being a national college there are students who spend 2-3 days travelling to their hometowns. Hence even when we used to 15 days leave, we get to stay with family only for a week or so. This is definitely not right on part of the management,” said Dr Singh. He added that the college prospectus also stated 15 days’ casual and 15 days’ earned leave to PG students but college seems to be bending its own rules.
Dr Ehsan Shaikh, MARD secretary, told TOI even the deputy registrar of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) had written to MGIMS dean on December 16, 2016, that the administration should follow state government rules and give due leave to PG students. “We have met the administration and discussed the issue several times but to no avail. A three-member MUHS team was on a routine inspection to the college on Friday. We put our demands in writing to the team that assured us to forward it to MUHS authorities,” he said.
Dr Singh said MGIMS administration had also harassed the students by posting them as Casualty Medical Officers (CMO). “It was only after DMER told the administration in December that college could not appoint PGs as CMOs that the college appointed four CMOs and stopped the old practice. The college ought to follow the Maharashtra Residency Scheme 1996,” said Dr Singh.
MGIMS dean Dr K Patond told TOI he alone could not take any decision regarding the leave. “The decision can be taken only during the governing council meeting that is held twice a year. Next meeting is due in March. Today the students met the MUHS team. We will also submit our report to MUHS,” he said.