Chennai: More than half the super-speciality seats in govt medical colleges — in disciplines such as cardiology, neurology, nephrology, cardiothoracic surgery, and neurosurgery — reserved for govt doctors are likely to go unfilled this year, officials said. The number of seats has outpaced the pool of qualified applicants.Officials attributed the poor response to inadequate incentives — including the absence of timely promotions, modest pay scales, and mandatory service bonds that bind doctors to govt service till retirement.This year, the state selection committee declared 215 super-speciality seats vacant across Tamil Nadu. It received 170 applications, released a rank list for 100 candidates, and allotted seats to 74 on Monday. “Candidates choose seats and colleges based on merit. Some were not allotted seats because they did not opt for the ones available,” an official said. Of the total 415 super-speciality seats in the state, 50% are reserved for in-service doctors, with admissions handled by the state selection committee. “It’s unfair to reserve 50% of the seats year after year despite poor demand. By the time open-category counselling begins, most preferred seats are gone, and many meritorious candidates have already joined other institutions,” said a doctor awaiting admission. In postgraduate courses, 50% of seats go to the state quota, with half of them earmarked for in-service candidates. For super-speciality programmes, however, the state has reserved all seats for govt doctors, citing a Supreme Court order.In-service candidates must execute a 50-lakh bond and pledge to serve the govt until superannuation, backed by three sureties — two permanent govt employees of equal or higher rank, and one family member. “Getting sureties is not easy, and forcing doctors to stay without adequate incentives is unfair. Why should they continue when there’s no career progression or financial motivation,” asked Dr A Ramalingam, general secretary, service doctors and postgraduates association.Even after completing super-speciality training, many doctors must wait years for postings in their disciplines because promotions and appointments depend on vacancies. “The pay scale remains unchanged after completing a super-speciality. Postings are limited, so while the number of qualified doctors grows every year, available positions don’t. In some cases, students rise faster than their teachers, and professors retire as associate professors,” Dr Ramalingam added.
