The Parliamentary Committee of SC and ST of Lok Sabha Secretariat has sought a report from Union health ministry and PGIMER in the alleged non-compliance of 200-point reservation roster in the recruitment of faculty selections (assistant professors), latest by March 27.

The 200-point roster system ensures that out of every 200 seats, 99 seats, as per the mandated reservation, go to the reserved category and 101 seats are left unreserved. Under this roster, in case there is a deficit of reserved seats in one department, it could be compensated by more people from the reserved communities in other departments in the university.

Accusing that the posts advertised released in January 2024 for 124 faculty positions in various departments of PGIMER did not comply with the formula established by the National Commission for SC/STs, a complaint letter (a copy of which is available with the HT) was forwarded to the health ministry asserting the interests of candidates from the reserved category.

Following the complaint, the health ministry, through a letter dated March 7, 2024, asked PGIMER to seek advice from the legal officer of the institute regarding the matter and then develop a specific proposal. This proposal will be reviewed by the department of personnel and training (DoP&T). It further mentioned to include comments from the director of PGIMER and attach the reservation roster prepared in the proposal. The Parliamentary Committee has directed the authorities concerned to give a reply latest by March 27.

Earlier, the liaison officer for SC/ ST Dr Devi Dayal, in a letter addressed to the director of PGI, suggested withdrawal of the advertisement for the 124 assistant professor positions advertised in January this year and re-advertising only after ensuring compliance with the 200-point roster and the Central Educational Teachers Cadre Act 2019, particularly addressing all backlog posts reserved for the respective categories.

Dayal said, “According to the Central Educational Teachers Cadre Act 2019, the selection of faculty from reserved categories must adhere to the principle of considering the entire institute as one unit. A special recruitment drive is mandated to address the backlog from 1997, calculated as per the 200-point roster. No new recruitment should take place until the backlog is cleared as per these guidelines.”

Additionally, the liaison officer mentioned that the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) in Lucknow had to withdraw its advertisement for faculty posts in 2022 because it did not comply with the 200-point roster.