Rotatory headship policy: Faculties of AIIMS and PGIMER hold 'peaceful' march

New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) Doctors under the Faculty Association of AIIMS (FAIMS), Delhi, and the Faculty Association of PGIMER (FA-PGIMER), Chandigarh, jointly held a "peaceful" march on Friday, demanding urgent implementation of the rotatory headship policy in these institutions.

The long-pending, time-bound implementation of rotatory headship is a reform crucial for fairness, accountability and academic vibrancy at India's leading medical institutions, they said in a joint statement.

Several faculty members from almost all departments gathered first at the JLN Auditorium of AIIMS, Delhi, at 4:30 pm for their march towards Parliament. They began marching towards Gate 1 around 5 pm.

"On reaching Gate 1, the police had placed barricades and despite our repeated and respectful requests to let us proceed towards Parliament, permission was declined," the doctor's bodies said in a statement.

Following this, the FAIMS representatives were called by the director of AIIMS for a dialogue on how to take the matter forward.

The protesting doctors during this discussion conveyed the collective concerns and urgency of the faculty members.

"They reassured us that efforts would be made to reach a positive and time-bound resolution," the statement said.

If the demands for the implementation of rotatory headship is not met by August 15, the doctor's bodies said that they would pursue an even more assertive course of action.

This march comes after over three months of continued peaceful protests, including black badge protests in May, relay hunger strikes from June 2025 onwards under the banner "Hunger for Justice", "Relay for Change" and observance of protest on the Doctors' Day during which the faculty and residents wore black badges, black T-shirts and also went on relay hunger strike.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) and the Delhi Medical Association (DMA) had last month extended support to the joint representation made by FAIMS, Delhi, and the Faculty Association of PGIMER, Chandigarh, for implementation of rotatory headship in these institutions.

They also wrote to Union Health Minister J P Nadda, saying they have received an email from by FAIMS, Delhi, and FA-PGIMER, Chandigarh, on the issue and emphasised this reform is a long-standing recommendation of various internal committees and has already been adopted successfully by leading national institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), JIPMER, NIMHANS, BHU and CMC Vellore, among others.

The rotatory headship system -- widely practiced at institutions like Harvard, Oxford, IITs, IIMs, NIMHANS, JIPMER and others -- ensures fairness, transparency, decentralization of power and leadership opportunities for all eligible faculty members, the doctor's bodies had said earlier in a statement.

An external committee chaired by NITI Aayog member Dr VK Paul had recommended its implementation at Delhi's AIIMS and Chandigarh's PGIMER.

Earlier on July 18, 2023, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued a formal order mandating its implementation by June-July 2024.

"Despite these clear directives, two academic cycles have passed with no action, undermining faculty morale, governance and the credibility of our premier national institutes," the statement added. PTI PLB AS AS