Date:03/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/03/stories/2008120357720600.htm

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Doctors plan boycott

Staff Reporter

MADURAI: Teachers affiliated to Tamil Nadu Government Doctors’ Association (TNGDA) boycotted classes on Monday.

According to the TNGDA’s State secretary, K. Senthil, the association has called for an increase in seats for postgraduate courses in the departments of physiology, anatomy, biochemistry and microbiology that had vacancies in medical colleges. But the government did not increase the number of seats and appointed candidates with M. Sc. in anatomy, physiology and biochemistry to fill vacancies. In its reply, the State Government said that appointment of M.Sc. graduates would be stopped in future and courses started in colleges where there was no postgraduate course and the number of seats increased where courses were already available. However, contrary to this reply, 25 M.Sc. (Microbiology) graduates were appointed.

In a press release, Dr. Senthil said that the association would call for an indefinite boycott from December 8, without affecting patients and the public.