Nearly 1,900 faculty posts vacant in Telangana government medical colleges: Survey

A survey by Telangana senior residents found nearly 1,900 vacant teaching posts in government medical colleges. Foundational departments are worst affected. Doctors warn that delays in recruitment and shortage of senior faculty are impacting medical education and NMC compliance.

Hyderabad: Raising a question mark over quality of medical education, a survey conducted by senior residents has indicated that there are close to 1,900 vacant posts of teaching faculty across various cadres in government medical colleges across Telangana.

The comprehensive survey carried out by Telangana Senior Resident Doctors Association (TSRDA) has revealed that foundational medical departments are increasingly reliant on temporary staff, while academic leadership in the form of senior faculty is virtually non-existent in several newly established medical colleges.

---

The survey findings paint a grim picture of single-faculty departments where many units operate with only one Assistant Professor or depend entirely on bonded, contractual Senior Residents.

Pre-clinical and para-clinical departments, including Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Microbiology, and Social and Preventive Medicine, are severely affected, according to the survey.

The shortage of Professors and Associate Professors has also created a leadership vacuum, institutional instability, which is threatening to jeopardise compliance needed with the National Medical Commission (NMC) to run medical colleges.

“We have met senior health officials, including the Director of Medical Education (DME) of Telangana and have submitted our findings. There is a need for the State government to come up with a job calendar to ensure regular recruitment of doctors and other health care workers is taken up,” Dr D Srinath, president of TSRDA, said.

Senior Residents said that peripheral and district medical colleges bear the brunt of this crisis, as they have a higher burden of vacancies. These chronic gaps, attributed to temporary (contract) recruitment, have started to impact medical education and training of UG MBBS students and PG doctors.

“In June-July, 2025, the State government issued a notification to fill close to 600 faculty posts across many medical colleges. Till now, the results of the recruitment have not been announced. So, there is definitely a delay in the entire process, which is hindering quality medical education,” Dr Srinath points out.

The senior residents said that the recruitment of faculty in medical colleges has not matched the pace at which infrastructure in the form of new medical colleges is being developed.

What can be done to address faculty shortage?

• Implementation of annual faculty recruitment job calendar

• Expedite completion of recruitment of 607 Assistant Professors immediately

• All existing vacant posts of Assistant Professors must be filled at the earliest

• Provide additional incentives to faculty in peripheral medical colleges

• Peripheral hardship allowance, service weightage for future transfers and promotions

• Fixed tenure postings and assured preference transfer on completion

• Academic incentives like priority access to training programmes, conferences, and career advancements are needed