The Jharkhand government has issued a notification for recruitment of at least 86 professors and 83 assistant professors to teach in five medical colleges, many of which faced flak from the National Medical Commission (NMC) over the dearth of teachers and a lack of facilities recently, officials said on Sunday.

According to a notification issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, medical colleges in Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Palamau, Dumka and Hazaribagh will recruit faculty members through a walk-in interview. The eligibility criteria for candidates have been set as per the requirements decided by the Medical Council of India (MCI) and NMC, the government notification, The Telegraph Online has a copy of which, stated.

The teachers, as per this notification, will be recruited on contract basis for a period of two years, and their contracts will be renewed depending on their performance while teaching in the five medical colleges – Shahid Nirmal Mahto Medical College and Hospital-Dhanbad, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital-Jamshedpur, Phulo Janho Medical College- Dumka, Medinirai Medical College- Palamau and Sheikh Bhikhari Medical College-Hazaribagh.

The state government recently found itself in the crosshairs of the medical fraternity following a decision of the NMC to disallow admission for MBBS courses in three medical colleges in Palamu, Dumka and Hazaribagh. The NMC, after inspection, had put a hold on admissions in these three medical colleges citing a lack of facilities and faculty members. These colleges were set up during the former BJP-led government of Raghubar Das.

The NMC’s decision came as a jolt for Jharkhand, a state that is already dealing with a crisis of doctors and healthcare professionals. The Hemant Soren-led government, however, was quick to take measure to address this issue with the chief minister himself asking officials concerned to intervene.

The walk-in interview for the 169 vacancies will be held at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi on October 9 and October 10, the government notification stated. The recruitments would be made for as many as 23 departments and vacancies will be reserved for Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste and Backward Caste categories as per the government norms for reservation in jobs.

As per the government notifications, candidates recruited on the position of professor will be paid a monthly salary of Rs 2.5 lakh, while those recruited on the position of assistant professors will be paid Rs 2 lakh per month. However, the candidates will not enjoy any other monetary benefits from the government during their service.