AIIMS revokes the directive halting the hiring of research staff

The AIIMS management on Monday halted its previous decision suspending the recruitment/selection process of research employees and indicated that the criteria for the same are being reviewed in response to objections from scientists.

The Society of Young Scientists (SYS), an organization made up of scientists who are all either engaged in research projects at AIIMS or are seeking PhDs there, has been protesting against the administration’s plan to limit the number of years one may be involved in projects there.

The protesting scientists had received support from the AIIMS Faculty Association, Resident Doctors’ Association, Nursing Union, and The Officers’ Association of AIIMS, among other groups.

The AIIMS administration issued an office memo (OM) on July 10 revoking its prior directive and stating that the project employee recruiting rules are being updated.

“various projects have not been able to operate effectively as a consequence of this, according to comments from various Principal Investigators (PIs). According to the Pls, this has caused a disturbance in the efficient operation of research initiatives and research output, according to a note from Dr. M. Srinivas, director of the AIIMS.

Over 1,400 project personnel and 665 extramural financed research projects are suffering significant setbacks, according to Pls.

Since then, the SYS has constantly advocated for this severe issue, which has received support from the FAIMS, RDA, AIIMS Nurses Union, Officers Association, and UAHP. Therefore, the order dated June 22, 2023 issued by the Research Section may be put on hold until the new guidelines are received for execution, according to the OM.

According to directives from a competent authority, recruiting interviews for Project Staff in Research Projects under the Research Section have been halted since June 22.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) employs researchers and technical staff for a variety of projects. According to the SYS, the proposed guidelines would limit the number of projects a researcher can take to three. They claimed this would result in the immediate termination of 1,400 employees.

It advocated revoking the research section’s memorandum to halt recruiting until then and suggested that the new rules be enforced prospectively (for new staff only). It had encouraged the AIIMS administration to review the recommendations.