Agitated with the ongoing stalemate over an order which caps the employment of staff engaged in research and immediate termination after a certain period, hundreds of researchers, scholars, and scientists from AIIMS hit the street on Thursday, July 20, to demonstrate their angst, stated a report in The New Indian Express.
The day-long demonstration was carried out in front of the institute’s director’s office where they continuously raised slogans and demanded the director to meet them once. The meeting was finally conducted in the late evening where the AIIMS Chief conveyed that the status quo would be maintained on the controversial order.
The agitated researchers have decided indefinite strike till a solution is not worked out. The matter started last month when the scholars got hold of undocumented information about capping the research tenure at the behest of the Union Health Ministry.
According to the information, the Union Ministry asked AIIMS to formulate a new recruitment guideline for the research staff mandating their engagement with the institute only for six years. After this period, researchers can be terminated with immediate effect even if their project is underway. Currently, the new guidelines will make 4,000 people doing research in different areas out of jobs.
The guidelines are apparently framed to duck the court-mandated practice of regularisation of staff employed in research projects. The motive was to discourage people from seeking regular appointments after a fixed period, which is 15 years as ordered by different courts including the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court on different petitions.
However, faculty, doctors, nurses and other staff have formally registered their opposition to the move. The Society of Young Scientists which is leading the agitation, has called the decision anti-science and anti-research.
“The currently proposed amendments are decidedly anti-science and anti-research. Moreover, it will affect the livelihoods of 4000 employees and their families. We insist that any amendments must be as per available court directives and take into account the humanitarian aspect,” the association stated.
