Kolkata: The West Bengal government has scrapped an ongoing promotion process for faculty positions in the Medical Education Service and ordered a fresh round of applications and interviews, an official said on Thursday.
The Directorate of Medical Education cancelled the promotion panel that had been prepared following interviews conducted in March for appointments to the posts of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor in state-run medical colleges and hospitals, the notification issued on Wednesday stated.
The move comes amid a broader review of decisions taken under the previous Trinamool Congress government by the newly elected BJP government in the state.
According to official vacancy data released by the Health Department, there are currently 226 vacant posts of Professor, 471 posts of Associate Professor and 328 posts of Assistant Professor across the state’s medical education system.
Sources in the health department said interviews for promotion to these posts had already been conducted in March, with candidates from various medical disciplines appearing before selection boards. A panel had also reportedly been prepared based on the interview process.
However, the latest notification directs authorities to begin the exercise afresh, requiring eligible candidates to submit new applications and appear for a fresh round of interviews.
Under the revised schedule, online applications will be accepted from June 15 to June 30. Even those who had applied under the earlier process will have to submit fresh applications. The dates for the new interviews will be announced later, the notification said.
The government has not publicly explained the reasons behind the cancellation of the earlier panel.
“The decision has come as a surprise because the interview process had already been completed and many candidates were expecting promotion orders,” a senior doctor associated with a state-run medical college said on condition of anonymity.
Another faculty member said the move had created uncertainty among teaching doctors. “Many of us had been waiting for the outcome of the interviews for months. Now the entire process is being restarted, and there is no clarity on why the earlier panel was withdrawn,” the doctor said.
Officials in the Health Department declined to comment on the reasons for the cancellation.
