27 zero-faculty department-units, over 150 without senior staff: Survey flags deep crisis in Telangana medical colleges

A recent survey conducted by the Telangana Senior Resident Doctors’ Association (T–SRDA) has revealed a widespread and systemic shortage of teaching staff, particularly senior faculty, across Government Medical Colleges in the State. The findings raise concerns about academic standards, regulatory compliance and the long-term sustainability of medical education in Telangana.

The consolidated dataset covers 443 responses from MBBS students spanning multiple Government Medical Colleges (GMC). One of the striking findings is that 27 departments-units are functioning with zero teaching faculty. In these departments, there are no Professors, no Associate Professors and no Assistant Professors. “Academically, such departments exist only on paper and are effectively non-functional,” said T-SRDA.

“According to National Medical Commission (NMC) norms, for every 100 MBBS students, each department must have at least 1 Professor, 1 Associate Professor and 2 Assistant Professors. That is the minimum required faculty structure. In Telangana, in 35 government medical colleges, there are around 32 departments per college,” said Dr. Srinath, President of T-SRDA.

Colleges where zero-faculty departments were identified include GMC Jogulamba Gadwal, GMC Asifabad, GMC Kodangal, GMC Bhupalpally and GMC Narayanpet. The survey revealed that several of these institutions have multiple departments without a single sanctioned teacher, particularly in pre-clinical and para-clinical subjects that form the foundation of MBBS training.

The shortage of senior faculty is even more extensive. More than 150 departments across the State have no Professors or Associate Professors at all. The data further shows that over 70% of department-units do not have a single Professor. Professors are largely concentrated in a handful of older institutions such as Osmania Medical College (OMC), Gandhi Medical College (GMC) and Kakatiya Medical College (KMC). In contrast, newer Government Medical Colleges frequently report zero Professors across multiple departments.

Worst-affected

The crisis is most acute in pre-clinical and para-clinical departments, including Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Microbiology, Social and Preventive Medicine and Forensic Medicine. These disciplines form the academic backbone of undergraduate medical training, yet many are operating without adequate faculty strength.

According to the survey, more than 120 department-units across the State are being run by just one faculty member, typically an Assistant Professor. In such cases, one individual is responsible for undergraduate teaching, internal assessments, university examinations, administrative responsibilities and clinical or laboratory supervision.

Contractual staff

The data also highlights heavy dependence on contractual appointments and bonded Senior Residents. A significant proportion of Assistant Professors are on short-term contracts. Many departments rely on mandatory service of Senior Residents (SR) who rotate annually. Several entries explicitly state “No regular faculty”, “Only SRs” or “All contracts”. In some departments, 100% of the teaching staff is contractual, while in others, Professors may be regular but all junior and mid-level faculty are temporary.