Tue Sep 23 18:25:37 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a summarized news article based on the provided text:

**Headline: Kerala Medical Colleges Face Staffing Crisis as Doctors Protest Transfers**

**Kozhikode, September 23, 2025:** Government medical colleges (GMCs) across Kerala are facing a staffing crisis, exacerbated by recent transfers and delayed financial compensation, sparking widespread protests by doctors.

The Directorate of Medical Education (DME) has transferred at least 16 assistant professors to the GMC in Kasaragod on a “working arrangement basis” following approval from the National Medical Commission (NMC) for 50 undergraduate seats. These doctors, reassigned from GMCs in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Thrissur, Kozhikode, and Manjeri, are expected to serve a minimum of three months or until permanent replacements are hired. The subjects affected include Anatomy, Forensic Medicine, Community Medicine, Microbiology, Pharmacology, Biochemistry, Pathology, and Physiology.

However, the transfers have been met with resistance. The Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association (KGMCTA) argues that new posts should have been created instead of depleting existing staff. They point out that several newly sanctioned medical colleges face significant doctor shortages, with Kasaragod needing 59 additional doctors, Wayanad 37, Pathanamthitta 25, and Idukki 22, according to NMC norms. KGMCTA sources stated that the problem stems from the government’s “working arrangement” approach to staffing medical colleges.

The KGMCTA also highlighted concerns about low entry-level pay, which discourages talented young doctors from joining GMCs, and the government’s failure to pay salary and dearness allowance arrears for the past four and a half years.

On Tuesday, KGMCTA members staged protest demonstrations outside medical colleges throughout the state. Their demands include a halt to faculty redeployment, the immediate creation of permanent faculty positions, filling vacancies through promotions and PSC recruitment, and addressing pay anomalies. T. Rosenara Begum, KGMCTA State President, inaugurated the protest in Kozhikode.

The situation underscores the challenges faced by Kerala’s medical education system in balancing the expansion of medical colleges with ensuring adequate and properly compensated staffing.

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