Is a PhD degree holder eligible for a teaching post in a Medical College?
17 Jan, 2012Background of the case
The appellant desired to know:-
- Whether any Ph. D. Title was or is awarded for any specific discipline, like Surgery, Obs. & Gynae, Practice of Medicine, General Medicine, Gastroenterology, Cardiology, Pathology, etc. ?
- Whether Ph. D. Can be considered as a “Post Graduate degree in the concerned discipline recognized by the Indian Medical Council Act”, as an essential qualification for any Teaching post in any public teaching institution?
- Whether Ph. D. without having any MD/MS degree is recognized by the Indian Medical Council Act, as an essential qualification for any Teaching post in any public teaching institution?’
The PIO informed that as per the Clause-2 as prescribed under Schedule-i prescribed in the Minimum Qualifications for Teachers in Medical Institutions Regulations, 1998, for promotion to the higher posts i.e. Associate Professor and above, the concerned candidate must possess Ph.D. degree in the subject. However, the same is not recognized by the Indian Medical Council Act as the Ph.D. degree is awarded/ recognized by the concerned university in non- clinical specialties like Anatomy, physiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Microbiology. The appellant was not satisfied with the reply of the PIO and filed appeal before FAA who endorsed the decision of the PIO.
View of CIC
The Commission held that the appellant appears to be asking for clarification and interpretations of certain actions and rules of MCI. The PIO is expected to only provide information on records and not give any explanations clarifications of interpretation.
Citation: Dr. Gautam Pal v. Medical Council of India in decision No. CIC/SG/A/2011/002757/16508