Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS), Tirupati, is facing criticism from its alumni over the denial of eligibility for MSc medical postgraduates in the institute’s direct faculty recruitment.
In its notification dated August 14, 2025, SVIMS omitted MSc medical postgraduates from the list of qualified candidates, despite their courses being recognised under National Medical Commission (NMC) regulations.
Courses and intent
SVIMS has conducted MSc medical postgraduate programmes in non-clinical medical specialities — Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, and Microbiology — since 2003.
These courses were introduced to address shortages of qualified teachers in medical colleges, following similar courses earlier run by Dr NTR University of Health Sciences (NTRUHS), Vijayawada, between 2002 and 2015.
Between 2003 and 2019, SVIMS produced around 150 MSc medical postgraduates. Many are currently employed as teachers in private institutions across India, while some work on ad hoc appointments within SVIMS itself.
Medical associations raise concerns
Medical associations like the TMMA (The MSc Medicine Association) argue that disqualifying MSc graduates amounts to “gross injustice.”
Shashank Kambali, a PhD scholar at SVIMS and President of TMMA, speaking to EdexLive said, “This is discriminatory against the alumni of SVIMS and must be addressed immediately. No government autonomous institution should blatantly violate the regulations laid down by the National Medical Commission (NMC). Fair practices must be adopted to prevent exclusion and to safeguard the interests of alumni as well as the state.”
Kambali further said that a direct recruitment of up to 30 per cent can be carried out as per NMC provisions, and that the directive issued by SVIMS is a clear violation of NMC guidelines. He added that many faculty members are still serving on an ad hoc basis and have not yet been promoted to permanent positions, adding to their existing woes.
