700 teachers of 17 Rajasthan medical colleges declare mass leave over service rules

JAIPUR : Nearly 700 teachers of 17 government medical colleges in Rajasthan have announced to go on mass leave from July 22, accusing the state government of not covering the teachers appointed before August 1, 2024 under the Rajasthan Service Rules. Teachers in government medical colleges are appointed by the Rajasthan Medical Education Society (RajMES), an autonomous body of the state government and the society's service rules are applied to them.

Medical teachers have been demanding that Rajasthan Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules should be adopted by the society because there are several anomalies in the society's rules. Dr Rajendra Yadav, vice president of the RajMES RMCTA welfare society, said the government recently announced in the state budget that the Rajasthan Civil Services Rules will be adopted in the RajMES, which was welcomed by the teachers association. But later the association came to know that it will be applicable on teachers appointed on or after 1 August 2024, Yadav said.

"It has come to our notice that the finance department has decided that the medical teachers appointed in RajMES before 1 August 2024 will be a 'dying cadre' and existing rules of the society will be applicable on them whereas the Rajasthan Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules-2017 will be applicable on teachers appointed on or after 1 August 2024. This will create a huge pay disparity among the medical teachers," he said.