After staging protests in a continuous manner, the faculities of country's two premier health institutions AIIMS and PGIMER have decided to intensify their stir by showing up their presence in front of the Parliament and invite nation's attention in support of their demands. The doctors are demanding urgent implementation of the rotatory headship policy in these institutions.
The rotatory headship policy is a critical governance reform mandated by the Union Health Ministry in July 2023, they said in a joint statement. While they have been holding peaceful protests against delay in implementing this, it did not yield any response from the Health ministry authorities which is why they have decided to rake up the cause during upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament .
The Faculty Association of AIIMS (FAIMS), Delhi, and the Faculty Association of PGIMER (FA-PGIMER), Chandigarh, will be holding a peaceful march from the Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Auditorium to Parliament at 5 pm on August 1, the doctors said. This decision comes after over three months of continued peaceful protests, including black badge protests in May, relay hunger strikes from June onwards under the banner "Hunger for Justice", "Relay for Change" and observance of protest on the Doctors' Day during which the faculty and residents wore black badges, black T-shirts and also went on relay hunger strike.
There has been no response from the concerned authorities despite these sustained democratic efforts, forcing us to take this next step, the statement said.The rotatory headship system -- widely practiced at institutions like Harvard, Oxford, IITs, IIMs, NIMHANS, JIPMER and others -- ensures fairness, transparency, decentralization of power and leadership opportunities for all eligible faculty members.
An external committee chaired by NITI Aayog member Dr VK Paul recommended its implementation at Delhi's AIIMS and Chandigarh's PGIMER.Earlier on July 18, 2023, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued a formal order mandating its implementation by June-July 2024."Despite these clear directives, two academic cycles have passed with no action, undermining faculty morale, governance and the credibility of our premier national institutes," the statement said.
"The aim is not to disrupt, but to bring national attention to a governance reform that affects thousands of doctors, faculty and future medical leaders," it added.The faculty associations of AIIMS and PGIMER said that they have already written to the competent police authority seeking permission and will comply with all required guidelines and security protocols."The faculty associations of AIIMS and PGIMER remain united in this cause, not just for faculty welfare, but for strengthening institutional democracy, academic integrity and excellence in patient care and medical education," they further said.
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