Secret ballot to decide AIIMS tussle

The faculty at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is at loggerheads on how to appoint department heads, reports Jaya Shroff Bhalla.

The faculty at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is at loggerheads on how to appoint department heads.

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While the heads of department are not in favour of a two-yearly rotation, the junior faculty is pushing for it.

AIIMS director Dr R.C. Deka, Dean Dr Rani Kumar and B.K. Prasad, joint secretary in the health ministry, met the faculty on February 12 and 16 discuss the issue.

“In some departments at AIIMS, there have been serious problems between heads and other faculty. FAIIMS held a secret ballot in 2008 that found 85 per cent faculty wanted two-yearly rotation. Ideally, all departments should have a council for taking departmental decisions,” said Dr Manoj Singh, president FAIIMS and professor in the department of pathology.

According to Dr Rani Kumar, dean and head of department of anatomy, rotation of headship is not a solution.

“Decentralisation is very important to ensure transparency. Simply rotating heads will give rise to vindictiveness and create problems,” said Dr Kumar, who has worked at AIIMS for 40 years.