Reinforcing a demand that has been pending for over a decade, doctors have voiced strong support for the faculty associations of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, and the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, in their call for the introduction of a Rotatory Headship system.
In a letter to Union Health Minister JP Nadda, United Doctors Front (UDF) Chairperson Dr. Lakshya Mittal urged the Ministry to take decisive action and implement the system without further delay. According to him, the faculty members’ demand marks a crucial step toward democratizing leadership and enhancing transparency in medical education.
Dr. Mittal noted that rotating departmental leadership is already successfully practiced in leading Indian institutions like IITs, IIMs, JIPMER, and GMC Vellore, and is also a norm in prestigious international universities such as Oxford and Harvard.
The Rotatory Headship model, he explained, would:
- Provide equal opportunities for faculty members to assume leadership roles,
- Ensure accountability and transparency in departmental functioning,
- Prevent favoritism and leadership stagnation, and
- Encourage innovation and diverse leadership styles.
“The UDF firmly believes that swift adoption of this reform-already recommended by internal panels and endorsed by the Ministry-will strengthen governance, raise morale, and improve academic output. We stand ready to support the medical fraternity and look forward to the Ministry’s leadership in creating a transparent and knowledge-driven academic ecosystem,” the letter states.
For more than ten years, the Faculty Association of PGIMER (FA‑PGIMER) and the Faculty Association of AIIMS Delhi have consistently sought a fixed-term, rotating headship policy. Several committees set up by the Centre have repeatedly endorsed the proposal in principle.
Previously, the Ministry had directed that a collegium system be introduced at these institutions, with a final decision on rotatory headship to follow within a year-by 2024. Acting on these instructions, PGIMER rolled out the collegium model in 2023.
To review the long-pending reform, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare convened a meeting with a high-level committee led by Dr. V.K. Paul of NITI Aayog. The panel-formed in 2023 and comprising experts including former AIIMS Director Dr. M.C. Mishra and renowned cardiologist Dr. K.K. Talwar-was tasked with guiding the implementation process.
Frustrated by delays, faculty members from both AIIMS Delhi and PGIMER launched a joint relay hunger strike on June 1, pressing the government to finally enact the promised system of rotatory headship and collegium-based leadership at India’s top medical institutes.