Ad hoc troubles

It started with promotion of one of our lecturers to associate professor’s post on ad hoc i.e. temporary basis, being reverted to lecturer level for one day every month. In case a permanent associate professor was appointed by selection, this one would be reverted to lecturer’s position. That was good for the concerned person. But it was bad for the department, because the Dean said he had to keep the lecturer’s post vacant by law, so as to be able to fill the associate professor’s post as soon as one was selected. So we had one lecturer less to do emergency duties. We also had one lecturer less for maintaining our recognition by the medical council of India. I suggested that the vacant lecturer’s post also be filled on ad hoc basis, to be terminated with one day’s notice when required. That was refused as something that just could not be done. In due course the medical council sent a team for inspection of the college and hospital, and found a deficiency of not one but 18 lecturers in our two hospitals attached to our medical college. Though a number of them were in the other hospital we still needed to not only fill up two posts that were vacant, but also had to create a few new ones and then fill them up. To add to our woes, two of our lecturers got selected for ad hoc promotion to associate professor’s position. Now we would have an additional deficiency of two lecturers, taking the tally to twenty. When I met the Dean in a meeting not related to this issue, I explained the situation to him. The Dean maintained that he had to keep these lecturers’ posts vacant by law, so as to be able to fill the associate professor’s post as soon as one was selected. ‘But what about our recognition by the medical council?’, I asked. ‘We already have a deficiency, and this will add to it.’ He mulled over it briefly and said, ‘I am thinking of filling these up on ad hoc basis’. I wish he had done that with the promotion of the first lecturer, so that we would have had an extra working hand for all these months in between.