Only 8 teachers against 56 sanctioned posts at Amritsar's Government Dental College

Manmeet Singh Gill

Amritsar, February 5

With only 14 per cent of the sanctioned strength of the faculty, the clinical and academic work at Government Dental College and Hospital here has been severely affected.

Of the 56 sanctioned posts of professor, associate professor and assistant professor, the college is running with only eight teachers. Two of the six departments do not have a single teacher.

In absence of any teacher in the department of periodontology and department of prosthodontics and crown and bridge, two teachers from these departments from Government Dental College, Patiala, visit the campus every week. Two other departments, paediatric dentistry and oral medicine and radiology are running with only one faculty member.

The college, set up in 1952, has over 250 BDS and postgraduate students enrolled with it. In the absence of sufficient faculty members, the hospital is running its affairs with the help of interns and postgraduation students.

The insiders at the college stated that no new recruitment had been made in the last almost two decades.

With faculty members retiring with each passing year, the situation had come to a pass that it was facing difficulties in managing its workload.

In 2009, the college had almost 50 per cent of the faculty seats vacant. By 2013, the faculty shortage increased to almost 70 per cent.

A faculty member said, “With almost 150 to 200 patients visiting the OPD daily, it becomes difficult for doctors to attend to the patients and then teach in the classes.”

Poor patients coming to the hospital for dental treatment also suffer as two of the departments do not have a single dentistry expert.

College Principal Dr Renu Bala Sroa said the government had also mooted a proposal for the recruitment of the faculty.

“The proposal is at an advanced stage of approval and hopefully the shortage of teachers will be over soon,” she said.

No recruitment

• Insiders at the college said no new recruitment had been made in almost two decades
• In 2009, almost 50% of the faculty seats were vacant
• By 2013, the faculty shortage increased to almost 70%
• Principal Dr Renu Bala Sroa said the government had mooted a proposal for the recruitment of the faculty and the shortage of teachers should be over soon