The controversy over the appointment of a non-MBBS doctor from outside the state as the Vice-Chancellor in Rajasthan University of Health Sciences (RUHS) is rapidly deepening.
During the zero hour in the state assembly on Thursday, Congress Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Dr Shikha Meel Barala raised questions on the appointment of a non-doctor to the post of Vice-Chancellor of Rajasthan University of Health Sciences (RUHS), stated a report by The New Indian Express.
She said that "making a pharmacist the VC of the Health University is an insult to the senior and qualified doctors of the state."
During the debate on the grant demands of the Health Department in the Assembly, Dr Shikha Meel Barala launched a scathing attack on the government and said that "there is talk of a new slip (Parchi) in the corridors of the Health Department which has made a pharmacist from Maharashtra the Vice Chancellor of RUHS. This raises a big question for those senior and experienced doctors of Rajasthan who have trained thousands of specialist doctors in their careers. Was there not even a single doctor in Rajasthan who would have been eligible for this post?"
Pharmacist Prof Pramod Yevale was recently appointed VC by Governor Haribhau Bagde who also hails from Maharashtra. His appointment has led to a major backlash from medical professionals who believe that a health university should be led by someone with a medical degree.
The Rajasthan chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has strongly opposed Yevale's appointment, arguing that it compromises the standards of medical education and research. The association has written to the governor, urging that the decision be revoked.
The doctors have even warned of an agitation and threatened to launch statewide protests in medical colleges if this decision is not reversed. They have also demanded that only a senior doctor associated with medical education in Rajasthan should be appointed to this post.
The IMA says the appointment of an outsider will harm the medical sector of the state. The organisation has described the role of local experts as important in the construction of an important institution like Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS).
Doctors argue that ignoring local doctors who have been serving for years will have an adverse effect on medical education. The appointment of an outsider can also create administrative and regional problems.
IMA has also clarified that the medical system of the state will be strengthened only by the appointment of doctors associated with medical education of Rajasthan. They say that the appointment of an outsider violates the interests of local doctors and the medical fraternity.
The appointment of RUHS VC (Vice-Chancellor) clearly ignited a huge controversy though the Pharmacist Union has expressed happiness over Pharmacist Prof Pramod Yevale being appointed as the VC, according to the report by The New Indian Express.
Now everyone's eyes are focused on the next step of the governor and the administration.
