Remove mandatory retirement' age for medical teachers: Dr Edmond Fernandes

June 10, 2016

Mangaluru, Jun 10: Dr Edmond Fernandes, CEO, Center for Health and Development [CHD-India] has written to Bhanu Pratap Sharma, Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Government of India urging to remove mandatory retirement' age for medical teachers in private and Government medical colleges and Universities.

Considering the acute shortage of doctors in the country, which is way below the WHO recommended doctor patient ratio, he said the senior doctors will be instrumental to guide quality control needed by accreditation councils like NAAC, NABH and improve the overall development of health sector and human resources etc.

In the letter, Dr Edmond mentioned that employment should be seen as a human right which ensures independence, social security and promotes a sense of dignity and self-worth.

Setting a time-line for retirement at 70 is obsolete and unfair. The medical teachers post 70 should not aspire for posts of Heading departments and moving as examiners to other institutes, that should be clearly declared of in an undertaking and they should be assigned other development roles, he wrote.

He pointed out that a few medical teachers have dual MD degrees and a few might have Dual PHD's and it is important to cultivate these teachers without letting them go. If the mental faculty of the teacher is sound with physical movement at ease, there should be no retirement as such. Ontario Human Rights Commission, advocated and came up with the enlightened decision to remove mandatory retirement on 12th December, 2006, many other countries have followed suit. He has appealed to the Secretary to table this for immediate solution.

The letter has been copied to Dr Jayshree Mehta, President, Medical Council of India and Dr Shalini Rajneesh, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka.

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good job, u may get help from UT Khader.

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Mangaluru’s KPT becomes India’s first autonomous govt polytechnic

News Network

January 23,2026

Mangaluru: The Karnataka Government Polytechnic (KPT), Mangaluru, has achieved autonomous status from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), becoming the first government polytechnic in the country to receive such recognition in its 78-year history. The status was granted by AICTE, New Delhi, and subsequently approved by the Karnataka Board of Technical Education in October last year.

Officials said the autonomy was conferred a few months ago. Until recently, AICTE extended autonomous status only to engineering colleges, excluding diploma institutions. However, with a renewed national focus on skill development, several government polytechnics across India have now been granted autonomy.

KPT, the second-largest polytechnic in Karnataka, was established in 1946 with four branches and has since expanded to offer eight diploma programmes, including computer science and polymer technology. The institution is spread across a 19-acre campus.

Ravindra M Keni, the first dean of the institution, told The Times of India that AICTE had proposed autonomous status for polytechnic institutions that are over 25 years old. “Many colleges applied. In the first round, 100 institutions were shortlisted, which was further narrowed down to 15 in the second round. We have already completed one semester after becoming an autonomous institution,” he said. He added that nearly 500 students are admitted annually across eight three-year diploma courses.

Explaining the factors that helped KPT secure autonomy, Keni said the institution has consistently recorded 100 per cent admissions and placements for its graduates. He also noted its strong performance in sports, with the college emerging champions for 12 consecutive years, along with active student participation in NCC and NSS activities.

Autonomous status allows KPT to design industry-oriented curricula, conduct examinations, prepare question papers, and manage academic documentation independently. The institution can also directly collaborate with industries and receive priority funding from AICTE or the Ministry of Education. While academic autonomy has been granted, financial control will continue to rest with the state government.

“There will be separate committees for examinations, question paper setting, boards of studies, and boards of examiners. The institution will now have the freedom to conduct admissions without government notifications and issue its own marks cards,” Keni said, adding that new academic initiatives would be planned after a year of functioning under the autonomous framework.

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