The health ministry on Monday mass promoted 411 doctors to the posts of assistant and associate professors in line with the recommendations of the ministry’s Departmental Promotion Committee.
Two separate notifications, signed by the deputy secretary of the ministry upon the president’s order, were published on the same day with the list of names of the promoted doctors.
Among the 411 doctors, 343 were promoted to assistant professor posts and 68 to associate professor’s. The promoted doctors had been asked to submit joining letters to the secretary of the health ministry and the heads of the respective institutions they had been posted to.
Until further notice, these promoted doctors will be working in their previous workplaces. The promotions of those doctors, who are currently taking training or education courses at home or abroad or are working at other places, will be effective after they finish their studies.
A report, published on November 6 in the Dhaka Tribune and titled “DPC approves mass promotions for medical college teachers,” stated that more than 400 doctors had been promoted against only 200 vacant posts.
According to tradition and existing arrangements, assistant and associate professors must have certain years of teaching experience and publications in international journals to become associate and full professors respectively.
However, there are allegations that a large number of the recently promoted doctors lacked both the proper teaching experience and the publications.
Sources said the country currently has 1,034 assistant professors for 74 subjects and 702 associate professors for 59 subjects.
The Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) was introduced last year because the previous process of promotions through the Public Service Commission was very lengthy.
During the current government’s tenure, the DPC promoted around 2,000 teachers, most of them belonging to the ruling party-backed Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad, to the posts of assistant and associate professors, sources said.
Seeking anonymity, several high officials of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the health ministry told the Dhaka Tribune that the latest promotion spree included a big chunk known for their affiliation with the opposition parties.
They said the fact that the opposition supporters had been preferred for promotion had frustrated many Swachip doctors.
Asked why more promotions had been given compared to the number of vacancies, DGHS Director General Dr Khandakar Sifayetullah said it was more of a compensation because traditionally, doctors had to wait for literally decades for promotions.
Pointing at the fact that the officials of the other cadres of the government services got promotions even when there were no vacancies, Sifayetullah said this issue was raised with the DPC in the presence of the representatives of the other ministries. The DPC then gave consent for promoting the doctors.
He, however, said the promoted doctors would only enjoy the financial benefits, and not the posts.
