Homeopathic medical officer candidates in dire straits

KOLLAM: Nearly 200  homoeopathic candidates,  who have been selected by the PSC for appointment as  medical officers,  have been waiting indefinitely for  jobs due to the failure of the medical department  in reporting the vacancies and the government’s  move to hike the retirement age of doctors.  The candidates include those who have completed their master’s degree in homoeopathic medicine.

Various medical officers, including superintendents and DMOs were reinstated after their retirement on May 31 and their services were  extended to another six months through  a government order on June 2.  The candidates allege that the move  to hike the retirement age of officers would affect their job prospects.

“As many as 17 officers were reinstated stating that their services were needed for combating the monsoon  epidemics. The department has already forwarded the file to hike the retirement age of these officers from 56 to 60,” a source from the medical officer rank-holders’ association told this newspaper.

An interim order by the administrative tribunal stopping all the appointments from the rank list published in August 2015 based on an appeal alleging violation in the Turn Pass Over (TPO) system of appointments has also hit the candidates. Out of 197 candidates in the main list, only 50  have received appointment orders till now.

“The majority of the waiting candidates are on the verge of age-over as they get only one or two chances in their lifetime to attend the exam conducted once in several years,” a rank-holder told this newspaper.

The Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meeting which decides the promotion of officers does not meet promptly and keeps the posts vacant for years.  The candidates are thus denied an entry into the system. Several homoeopathic dispensaries in the state have recruited staff on a daily basis due to the failure to report the vacancies to the PSC on time.