In a key decision, the Andhra Pradesh Government decided to sack as many as 76 assistant professors and two associate professors working at government medical colleges for being on unauthorised leave for more than a year. On Sunday, August 6, the GO (Government Order) was issued and the government sought an explanation from the absentees on why it shouldn't terminate them from the services within 15 days.
Among the assistant professors, 18 are from Andhra Medical College (AMC) in Visakhapatnam, 13 from Sri Venkateswara Medical College in Tirupati and 12 from Government Medical College in Ongole. Moreover, one of the assistant professors at AMC, Dr Syed Ahmad Basha, has been in unauthorised absence for more than seven-and-half years, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
In a show-cause notice that was issued recently, the Director of Medical Education (DME) DVSL Narasimham said that the associate and assistant professors were on unauthorised leave for more than a year. Further, he said, "The professors have violated the services rule as they have not obtained any prior permission for leave. Their absence will be treated as resignation from government service as it has caused massive inconvenience to the hospital administration, leaving people deprived of medical care at government hospitals and colleges."
Meanwhile, AMC authorities are of the view that the prolonged absence of the professors hasn't impacted their services. Principal of AMC G Butchi Raju said, "Whenever doctors are on unauthorised leave for over a month, they are notified after informing the DME. The vacancies are filled in the form of transfers or promotions," as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
Further, he said, "The state government follows due procedure to terminate doctors on prolonged unauthorised leave. They are served notices before taking action." Additionally, he added that it was a regular procedure followed by the government. However, AMC, which is one of the largest hospitals in the state with 500-plus doctors, didn't face any problems. "However, there are a few colleges, which are not preferred by doctors for various reasons, which must have faced problems," Butchiraju maintained.
