Ghost faculty still haunts medical colleges in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Medical colleges showing ghost faculty as teachers and resident doctors will face police action, the Medical Council of India has warned.
In the last few years, complaints about ghost faculty in medical colleges have been on a rise, but MCI has failed to take action against these colleges.

In a bid to control and stop these practices, colleges have been warned that if the documents of the teachers or the doctors are fake, they will be liable to punishment. Dummy doctors and dummy patients too will not be spared and the MCI can register police complaints against colleges for indulging in these practices.

A senior MCI member in the city said, “We have noted instances in the past where non-medical people posed as teachers and doctors in the colleges. At that time too, the colleges were warned. The practice continues when there is shortage of faculty from time to time. The last minute transfers and dummy candidates are becoming a major cause of concern.”

The state governments have been requested to not opt for last-minute transfers in government colleges as they too will be scrutinized. The last minute transfers are often done to show faculty strength in a government college where the numbers are not adequate. After the inspection, the head of the department or professors go back to their original college.

Dr R. Madhu (name changed) a junior doctor in a private college, said, “Post-graduates are teaching anatomy, gastroenterology and general medicine in most of the private colleges. When there is a visit by an MCI member or a government inspection, senior doctors are seen in the college. We are heavily relying on recorded lecture videos to understand these subjects.”