No merit-based counselling, health dept publishes list of 930 senior residents
Times of India | 6 March 2026
Kolkata: On Thursday, the state health department published the list of 930 postgraduates for the SR (senior resident) posting across teaching and non-teaching hospitals across the state. While the 3-year bond posting is mandatory for junior doctors after completion of the postgraduate course, the posting, done without merit-based counselling, put this step by the health department into controversy.
This was the first time the SR posting was done by bypassing the merit-based counselling. Earlier, the 1st-year SR posting was in a medical college and the next 2 years were in rural/district or sub-divisional hospitals. This was in accordance with NMC guidelines to make these SRs eligible to apply for faculty members on completion of the SR tenure. This time some PGTS were posted in medical colleges, while many were given postings in district/sub-divisional/superspecialty hospitals.
"This is nepotism and a non-transparent posting process. While some are posted in medical colleges, others are posted in district or sub-divisional hospitals. Also, according to the National Medical Commission, one year of senior residency in a medical college is essential to enter medical education. In that case, those posted to districts will be denied entry into medical education service," said general surgery professor Manas Gumta, of the Association of Health Service Doctors, West Bengal.