Around 50 senior resident (SR) doctors of the state-run Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Government Medical College & Hospital (SCCGMC&H) are not recording their attendance in the Aadhaar enabled biometric attendance system (AEBAS) violating mandatory guidelines of the National Medical Commission (NMC), the sole body regulating medical colleges across the country. To ensure transparency and reduce manual interference in the assessment of medical colleges, the NMC has directed all medical colleges across states and Union territories (UTs) to implement attendance recording through the AEBAS mandatorily.

An AEBAS portal has already been operational by the commission to keep watch on the problem of ghost faculty in medical colleges and to also ensure attendance of medical students and faculty. Alarmed with gross irregularities in recording attendance in the AEBAS the SCCGMC&H authorities have woken up to take strong punitive actions against the SRs, who are found not following the NMC’s guidelines. The college authorities have issued an order in this regard on 5 April to streamline the SRs. “Aadhaar enabled biometric attendance system started from January 2024 at Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Govt Medical College & Hospital, Uluberia. Attendance record at AEBAS for month of March 2024 for maximum Senior Resident doctors is zero.

Henceforth, non-record of attendance of SRs at AEBAS system will be considered as absent and a working statement will be prepared on the basis of attendance of AEBAS. Attendance in physical register will not be considered, if it is not recorded in AEBAS,” the order issued by Dr Subhra Mondal, medical superintendentcum-vice-principal (MSVP) of SCCGMC&H stated. “All senior resident doctors are asked to record their biometric attendance regularly or strict punitive action will be taken accordingly,” the order adds. Neither the principal Prof (Dr) Sanat Ghosh nor MSVP Dr Mondal was available for comment. Sources in the teaching hospital said that senior residents are entitled to join government hospitals after completing post graduate MD and MS courses.

A section of the SRs in most of the state-run hospitals are attached with private healthcare establishments and less bothered about their official duty hours in their respective government hospitals, the sources requesting anonymity alleged. In order to earn more money by spending time in private healthcare units they are reluctant to record their attendance in AEBAS installed in government teaching hospitals where they are associated, sources said, adding, “The SCCGMC&H authorities should take strong actions against the SRs for violating mandatory guidelines of the NMC for an entire month of March.”