Resignations Spark Faculty Crisis
Lucknow: King George’s Medical University (KGMU) is facing a faculty crisis as seven senior doctors resigned in the past two months, citing low pay compared to other government or private hospitals and a uniform pay structure across all faculty, despite longer working hours.
This trend is not new; historically, several doctors have left KGMU for better opportunities, leaving remaining staff with a heavier patient load.
Names and New Positions of Resigned Doctors
The doctors who resigned include:
- Dr. Manu Agarwal – Psychiatry
- Dr. Tanvi Bhargava – Anaesthesia (joined SGPGIMS)
- Dr. Ashok Kumar Gupta – Plastic Surgery (joined RMLIMS)
- Dr. Karan Kaushik – Cardiac Anaesthesia (private hospital)
- Prof. Ajay Verma – Respiratory Medicine (head of department at RMLIMS)
- Prof. Kshitij Srivastava – Private hospital in Alambagh
- Prof. Adarsh Tripathi – Psychiatry (currently serving notice period)
Earlier, KGMU had also lost other distinguished specialists from departments like Endocrine Medicine, Nephrology, Neurosurgery, and Rheumatology.
Financial Disparities and Uniform Pay Structure
Senior faculty highlighted two major concerns:
- Low Salaries: Government assistant professors earn around ₹1.25 lakh per month, with professors earning up to ₹3 lakh. Private hospitals often offer packages exceeding ₹10 lakh per month plus incentives.
- Uniform Pay Across Specialisations: Super-specialists, despite years of additional training and longer clinical hours, earn the same as non-clinical faculty.
These factors are cited as the primary reasons for the exodus, with some doctors also noting personal reasons or career growth as contributing factors.
KGMU’s Response and Call for Policy Reform
KGMU spokesperson Prof KK Singh said, “The doctors who have resigned joined recently. Some have left for appointments in other institutions, while others cited personal reasons.”
Meanwhile, KGMU Teachers’ Association has called for policy reforms to retain talent. General secretary Prof Santosh Kumar said, “The government should formulate a policy for doctors educated in government institutions. There is job security here and immense scope to serve the poor, which is not the case in the private sector.”
