STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: With a view to solving the dearth of doctors in the medical colleges in the State, the State Government has raised the upper age limit for the posts of physicians to 45 years, irrespective of categories. The existing upper age limit for general candidates, including doctors, for government services in the state is 38 years old, with a relaxation of five years for candidates belonging to the ST and SC categories.
The Personnel Department of the State Government issued an office memorandum to this effect.
According to sources in the Health Department, the number of medical colleges is on the rise in Assam. The academic sessions of three more medical colleges in the state will start this year. Apart from this, several medical colleges are at various stages of construction in the state. However, compared to the number of medical institutions, the number of doctors in the state is less, and that made the government take this decision.
The sources further said that even the National Medical Commission (NMC) had taken a decision to relax the upper age limit for various posts of doctors to 45 years.
According to the office memorandum, it has come to the attention of the State Government that a shortage of faculty members in the Medical Colleges of Assam is affecting patient care and academic services in these institutions. Raising the age limit at the entry-level posts in the medical colleges is considered one of the remedies to overcome the constraint of a deficit of faculty members, particularly teachers. The Teachers Eligibility Qualification in Medical Institutions Regulation, 2022, of the National Medical Commission also stipulates the upper age limit for the post of Senior Resident with Postgraduate Degree of MD/MS/DNS and for the post of tutors with M.Sc. degree in Medical Science (which are equivalent to the posts of Demonstrator, Registrar, Resident Surgeon, Resident Physician, etc., in the State of Assam) as 45 years.
The office memorandum, however, said that there shall be no change in the procedure of recruitment or other qualification or service conditions such as year or age of retirement, etc. Further, in exercise of Section 6 of the Assam Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 1978 (As amended), the above-stated posts are exempt from the provisions of the Act, 1978 (As amended).
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