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Date Of Birth Recorded In HSC Pass Certificate Is To Be Taken As The Date Of Birth For All Purposes: Orissa High Court

Date Of Birth Recorded In HSC Pass Certificate Is To Be Taken As The Date Of Birth For All Purposes: Orissa High Court

Udai Yashvir Singh

5 May 2024 3:13 PM

A single bench of the Orissa High Court comprising of Justice Biraja Prasanna Satapathy while deciding a Writ Petition in the case of Madan Raul vs State of Orissa & Ors has held that date of birth recorded in the HSC Pass Certificate is to be taken as the Date of birth for all purposes.

Background Facts

Madan Raul (Petitioner) entered into service in 1968 as a Peon. His date of birth was recorded as 12.07.1948 in the service book opened after this appointment. The Petitioner had not passed his HSC Pass Examination conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Odisha (Board) when he was appointed as a Peon. However, he cleared this examination in August 1970 and in the HSC Certificate issued by the Board, the date of birth of the Petitioner was recorded as 12.07.1950. Further the date of birth of the Petitioner in the Transfer Certificate was also mentioned as 12.07.1950.

Based on the HSC certificate and Transfer Certificate, the Petitioner was appointed as a Diarist-cum-Typist in 1973 and in the subsequent service book opened after his new appointment, his date of birth was recorded as 12.07.1950. Based on his date of birth to be 12.07.1950, the Petitioner was supposed to retire on 31.07.2008 but the Respondent passed an order of retirement of the dated 17.08.2006 by which the Petitioner was made to retire from service on 31.07.2006 considering his date of birth to be 12.07.1948.

The Petitioner challenged the retirement order before the Administrative Tribunal (Tribunal). However, the Tribunal was subsequently abolished and the matter was transferred to the High Court.

It was contended by the Petitioner that his date of birth recorded in his service book after joining as Diarist-cum-Typist was not objected to by anyone and was never corrected by following the due process of law. Further, since the date of birth in the 1973 service book was recorded after taking into account the HSC Pass certificate of the Petitioner, the Petitioner could not be made to retire in 2006.

On the other hand, it was contended by the Respondent that since the date of birth of the Petitioner while joining as a Peon was recorded as 12.07.1948, he was made to retire on attaining the age of 58 years, which fell due on 31.07.2006. Thus, no illegality had been committed by the Respondent.

Findings of the Court

The court observed that in both the HSC Certificate and the Transfer Certificate, the date of birth of the Petitioner was recorded as 12.07.1950. The said date of birth was also recorded in service book of the Petitioner opened after he joined as Diarist-Cum-Typist. The court further held that:

This Court is of the view that date of birth recorded in the HSC Pass Certificate is to be taken as the Date of birth for all purposes.

The court thus held that 12.07.1950 should be taken as the date of birth of the Petitioner and the Petitioner should have retired on 31.07.2008 instead of 31.07.2006. However, since the Petitioner had not discharged any duty for the period 01.08.2006 to 31.07.2008, he was not be entitled to get any salary for the said period. However, the court ordered the pay of the petitioner be notionally fixed and further ordered revision of pensionary benefits.

With the aforesaid observations, the court allowed the writ petition and quashed the order of retirement

Case No.- WPC (OAS ) NO.50 of 2018

Case Name- Madan Raul vs State of Orissa & Ors

Counsel for the Petitioner- Mr. L. Sahu, Adv.

Counsel for Respondents- nil

College of Pharmacy at MMC in Chennai staring at losing approval due to lack of qualified teachers

College of Pharmacy at MMC in Chennai staring at losing approval due to lack of qualified teachers

Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai

Thursday, April 11, 2024, 08:00 Hrs [IST]

The College of Pharmacy at the Madras Medical College (MMC), the oldest pharmacy institution that started a diploma course in pharmaceutical sciences in the country 55 years ago, is now facing the threat of losing its approval or at least face penal actions like cutting short of student intake due to non-compliance of the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) norms and the TN Dr MGR Medical University rules, it is learnt.

In a recent letter sent to the director of medical education (DME) through the dean of the MMC by the principal of the pharmacy college, it was informed to the director that the oldest pharmacy institution under the state government is suffering and struggling to provide quality education to the graduate and post graduate students. Apart from the B Pharm batches, the college runs four specializations in the post graduate level (M Pharm). All these classes are handled and managed by 17 teachers.

For the academic year 2024-25, the inspections by PCI and by the university are due; mostly it will be done after the general elections. What is now most distressing is that several of the teachers are not qualified as per the education regulation rules of the PCI, and the existing recruitment rule was made 55 years ago.

According to sources from the academic community, PCI has mandated that the basic qualification required for a faculty member for teaching degree class is first class B Pharm degree, and for post graduate course, the teacher must have passed M Pharm degree with first class. Sources have alleged that, in olden times, when there was shortage of qualified teachers, pharmacists working in the government hospitals with B Pharm qualifications were deputed to the college to teach the degree classes, and later on they got regularized as faculty members for the degree course. Many of these teachers do not possess first class degrees or first class M Pharm degrees, however they continue as professors on the advantage of experience. This shows that the College of Pharmacy at the Government Madras Medical College in Chennai is not following the rules and regulations mandated by the PCI and also by the TN Dr MGR Medical University.

Secondly, the college has no regular principal and the charge is given to a professor of a department. This phenomenon has been happening for the last several decades. It is alleged that the government is unwilling to create a post of principal for administrative purposes and to look after examination research, regulation and other academic related activities. The faculties want the government to create the post of principal at the earliest and it has to be a promotional prost from the professor cadre.

Thirdly, the teaching faculties are worrying mostly for not creating promotional cadres. Even the most qualified and experienced teachers are also working in the cadre of Assistant or Association professors.

In addition to all these, the grave problem that affects the very existence of the institution is the lack of adequate teachers. The government is neither appointing the sufficient staff including professors in all the departments to fulfill the sanctioned strength nor creating any additional post. Filling up of the vacant post of professors and associate professors is critical for approval and affiliation by regulatory bodies like PCI and the Tamil Nadu Dr.MGR Medical University. The present strength of faculties was fixed 55 years ago and that still continues without any amendment.

In anonymity a faculty member of the college told Pharmabiz that soon after the election is over, the inspections by the PCI and the University will take place. Currently, the college is facing insufficient number of teaching faculties as per the norms of the PCI. The reason he cites for the staff crunch including administrative staff is the apathy of the government. He said, despite repeated requests by the academic community and the alumni associations, the authorities are keeping mum on the issue, and that too for the last half a century.

The post of professor is vacant in the departments of pharmaceutics and in pharmacology for more than five years, whereas six posts of associate professors are vacant for more than nine years. Today the college has only 17 teaching faculties both for B Pharm and for M Pharm (4 specializations). As per the PCI rules, for B Pharm course alone, 19 teachers are required and for M Pharm 16 faculties are needed. The college’s sanctioned strength of teaching faculties is only 27, out of which 10 is lacking. As per the regulators’ norms, nine more posts need to be created.

Meanwhile, Pharmabiz has tried to take the response of the DME, but his office has informed that since the officers have to adhere to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the general elections he is unable to comment on the issue.

Meanwhile, Additional Chief Secretary, Gagandeep Singh Bedi, who is holding the charge of Principal Secretary for Health, said that the government will positively consider the issues and try to resolve them after the election is over. He said the officers like DME are barred from commenting on issues related to the government because of the election.

NMC task force launches online survey to assess mental health of medical students, faculty

NMC task force launches online survey to assess mental health of medical students, faculty

Disability researcher Dr Satendra Singh questioned on the lack of diversity in representation in the NMC's National task force on mental health.

By Chetana Belagere

Published May 02, 2024 | 7:00 AM ⚊Updated May 02, 2024 | 7:00 AM

NMC has sought for reports from all medical colleges on the number of medicos who have died by suicide. 

Concerned over the deteriorating mental health of medicos, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has launched a nationwide survey on the mental health of medical students.

The online survey aims to tackle increasing instances of depression, ragging, and suicides. The survey questionnaire, a Google form, is widely shared on several online platforms in all colleges.

The survey is part of the NMC’s exercise to uncover stress factors, issues the students fear the most, and how their workload affects them.

Why the survey?

The NMC issued a public notice a week ago, directing all Indian medical colleges to furnish the form by Friday, 3 May.

“Anti-ragging cell in NMC has constituted a National Task Force on mental and well-being of the medical students. The task force has decided to conduct an online survey of medical students as well as the faculty in medical colleges,” the notice by Aujender Singh, Deputy Secretary of the Post-Graduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) and Member Secretary of the national task force, said.

The NMC has promised to keep the participants’ identities confidential. The notice also stated that the task force will use the responses only for analysis and recommendation in its report.

“Individual responses will not be shared publicly,” the notice stated.

Interestingly, the notice also had a disclaimer, saying the data would not be 100 percent secure.

“We have taken appropriate measures to ensure the security of the data collected in this survey. However, please be aware that no method of transmission over the internet or electronic stores is 100 percent sure,” it said.

Depression and suicides

According to reports, 122 medical students — 64 MBBS and 58 post-graduates — have died of suicide over the past five years. Mental health and suicides have been a concern for the entire medical community.

Medical associations lauded the survey. “This is a much-needed initiative to address the burning issue of mental health amongst medical graduates and postgraduates,” the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) posted on X.

“Wheels are turning, we will fight and defeat this demon of mental stress together!” it added.

“It is a much stronger move by NMC to address the mental issues of the medical students and faculty. We appreciate the move,” National Secretary of the FAIMA Doctors Association Dr Rishiraj Sinha said on the social media platform.

Even as many appreciated the NMC initiative, Dr Satendra Singh, Director-Professor at the University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi, and a prominent disability researcher, questioned the lack of diversity in representation in the Commission’s National Task Force.

Speaking to South First, Dr Singh said a research paper published in Dialogues in Health raised a crucial question in January: Who drives the health policy agenda in India?

The study’s conclusion was alarming: Indian health committees from 1943 to 2020 lacked diversity in representation from multiple perspectives, failing to involve the real stakeholders.

Dr Singh had filed applications under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking details of the representation of stakeholders in the task force responsible for formulating India’s National Suicide Prevention Strategy.

The task force lacked representation from suicide-attempt survivors, individuals living with mental health conditions, and suicide loss survivors — key stakeholders whose voices should have been heard in framing national guidelines.

“Unfortunately, this oversight has been repeated by the anti-ragging committee of the National Medical Commission, which recently announced a 15-member National Task Force to address suicide concerns among medical students,” Dr Singh explained.

He raised a critical question. “Where are the voices of suicide survivors or those with psychological disabilities in these decision-making processes?”

Another study published in JAMA — American Medical Association’s peer-reviewed journal — found that Asian and Underrepresented Medicine students with multiple disability types faced the highest risk of burnout, with over a three-fold greater risk compared to their white peers without disabilities.

Access to accommodations has been shown to mitigate burnout among students with disabilities. However, unlike the General Medical Council in the UK (Welcomed and Valued), the NMC lacked a clear pathway for requesting accommodations. It indicated a gap in addressing the needs of medical students with mental health conditions.

Dr Singh highlighted a disconnect between the University Grants Commission (UGC)’s accessibility guidelines, Ministry of Education’s Wellness Committees in all colleges, UGC’s Enabling Units and the NMC UG PG guidelines not mentioning reasonable adjustments.

He said that when the forms are analysed and the task force is debating on the recommendations they should have ideally included voices of suicide survivors and those with psychological disabilities.

(Edited by Majnu Babu).