Shillong, Aug 31: MPYC secretary Junebirth Marak and the pressure groups from Garo Hills,-FKJGP, GSU, ADE, FAF and AYWO- have demanded inquiry into the manner in which the Mission Director, National Health Mission (NHM) proceeded with appointing Mid Level Health Providersv( MLHP)
That also expressed anguish over the manner in which the first recruitment to Mid Level Health Providers was handled.
While the MPYC wanted a probe into the matter, in a seperate statement, the pressure groups wanted the chief minister to correct the anomaly.
The MPYC secretary, while acknowledging the new advertisement of 21 Mid Level Health Provider positions to be posted at health and wellness sub centres in Meghalaya through the National Health Mission (NHM), said there was lack of transparency and fairness in the selection procedure.
“The Chief Minister, Health Minister, and Mission Director must all be held accountable. We demand a thorough investigation into the whether proper rules and procedures were followed during the recruitment process for recent recruitment of MLHP”, Marak said.
After the inquiry, right steps should be taken, including the dismissal of the Mission
Director, if it is found that the protocols were not followed.
Unedited letter of pressure groups to CM below
Shri. Conrad K. Sangma
Hon’ble Chief Minister
Govt. of Meghalaya
Shillong-793001
Through,
The Deputy Commissioner
West Garo Hills, Meghalaya
Tura-794001
Dated Tura the 30th of August 2023
Sub: Representation with regards to the appointment of Middle Level Health Providers (MLHP), 2023.
Hon’ble Sir,
We ardently hope that this letter finds you in good health and spirit. We also hope that you will be kind enough to spare your precious time to peruse this letter diligently and act in the matter judiciously so as to encourage a fair environment for the youths of the State of Meghalaya to pursue their respective careers without any setback/setbacks and without any misunderstanding.
Hon’ble Sir, recently a circular issued from the Mission Director, National Health Mission, Meghalaya, Shillong Vide Memo No. DHS/MCH&FW/NHM/MLHP/20/2023/(III), dated 23.08.2023 whereby a certain number of candidates has been declared for appointment for the post of MLHP under different vacant posts in different parts of Garo Hills, Meghalaya. In a shock to the people of Garo Hills, in the circular, there was not even a single Garo or local Candidate who was selected for the post of MLHP, all of which were posts that were vacant in Garo Hills Region.
Hon’ble Sir, in this regard we did our due research and found another circular Vide Memo No DHS/MCH&FW/NHM/MLHP/20/2023(II), dated 11.08.2023 whereby it was instructed that in order to fill up the vacant positions of MLHP at the Health and Wellness Centres the applicants will have to undergo verification of documents and counselling on the 17th August 2023. However, till date we have not been able to find any circular regarding the advertisement for the above mentioned positions (despite our best efforts) which we believe is in clear violation of the existing recruitment procedures laid down by the Govt. of Meghalaya.
Hon’ble Sir, our contention is that the office Memo whereby any advertisement for the recruitment of MLHP for the above mentioned circulars is non-existent and that the Mission Director of NHM should have taken due diligence before passing such an arbitrary order without taking into account the recruitment and appointment process and thereby blatantly acting upon his own will which have far reaching ramifications irreparable in the long run.
Hon’ble Sir, it was also brought to our knowledge that the Indian Nursing Council has sent a letter to all colleges of Nursing across India vide Letter No. 22-206/CPCH/2019-INC dated 29th May 2019 whereby all B. Sc. Nursing Colleges shall have to integrate the Middle-Level Health Provider (MLHP) course in basic B.Sc. Nursing and Post B. Sc. Nursing curriculum. We have been provided other official letters even from the Secretary, Govt. of India, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi-110011. However, after thoroughly purusing the letters we did not find any mention of GNM Nurses being ineligible for the posts of MLHP.
However, Hon’ble Sir, it may be noted that prior to the above mentioned circular from the Indian Nursing Council the Meghalaya Govt. has recruited both GNM & B.Sc. Nursing students for the post of MLHP given that the students complete an extra “6 months’ certificate program in Community Health for Nurses” which was offered by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in both Shillong and Tura from 2018 up-to 2022. It is further unclear if the IGNOU has discontinued the course or otherwise.
Furthermore, Hon’ble Sir, it has come to our knowledge that in the past the appointment process for the post of MLHP was carried out in the following order:
Advertisement for the post of MLHP followed by Screening of candidates followed by
Written and Viva Voce tests followed by
Recruitment of candidates followed by
“6 months’ certificate program in Community Health for Nurses” for the already recruited candidates who were absorbed into the posts on completion of the course.
This clearly indicates that the Mission Director, NHM, Govt. of Meghalaya has acted arbitrarily and against precedence and thus, should be subjected to official enquiry and should be reprimanded accordingly.
Hon’ble Sir, there are some major issues in this whole process which requires further deliberations and we strongly feel that all these issues should be immediately addressed so as to maintain a healthy working culture in the state of Meghalaya.
Despite our best efforts we cannot find the advertisement for the posts of MLHP with regards to the Memo No. DHS/MCH&FW/NHM/MLHP/20/2023/(III) dated 23.08.2023 which clearly indicates that the Mission Director has irresponsibly flouted the appointment guidelines of the Govt. of Meghalaya and acted on his own accord and thus he/she should be held accountable for this unfortunate events which could have easily led to major misunderstanding between the people of the state and thus he/she should be reprimanded for his/her actions accordingly.
The Medical Officials of NHM Meghalaya have been trying to convince us that after the Circular of the Indian Nursing Council, the Govt. of Meghalaya is recruiting only those students who had passed B.Sc. Nursing courses post 2022 however as per the office Memo No. DHS/MCH&FW/NHM/MLHP/20/2023/(II) dated 11.08.2023 the list of candidates who were invited for verification of Documents for the post of MLHP, there where candidates who hailed from Bethany GNM Nursing School, which does not offer B.Sc. Nursing courses. This clearly shows that the Mission Director of NHM, Meghalaya is misleading the people of the state. And as mentioned earlier we have not found any circular that disqualifies GNM Nurses from applying for the post of MLHP and thus appeal to you to pursue IGNOU to provide the “6 months’ certificate program in Community Health for Nurses” in continuation.
If indeed the Indian Nursing Council restricts the recruitment of MLHP from GNM Nursing schools and are only recruiting from B. Sc. Nursing Colleges, then it is imperative that the Govt. of Meghalaya upgrades at least 1 (one) GNM Nursing School which is already set up in Garo Hills to a B. Sc. Nursing College so as to avoid similar situations from happening in the future.
We are of the opinion that the current imbroglio transpired from the controversial Office Memo No. DHS/MCH&FW/NHM/MLHP/20/2023/(III) which clearly states that 41 Non Garo Candidates have been appointed as Middle Level Health Providers to be posted in North Garo Hills, South West Garo Hills and West Garo Hills. And as we can all understand that knowledge of Local Language is vital for Health workers especially in rural regions. And thus, we implore you to hold the whole appointment and interview process Vide Memo No. DHS/MCH&FW/NHM/MLHP/20/2023/(VI) if the aspiring candidates are immediately required to produce the “6 months’ certificate program in Community Health for Nurses” to get selected.
Hon’ble Sir, it may be mentioned that for the Govt. of Meghalaya this issue may seem menial however, as ordinary citizens we would like to bring unto your cognizance that these kind of isolated matters have culminated for a very long time and may give rise to distrust between communities which is not in the interest of the citizens of Meghalaya and thus, we plead you to consider our recommendations as a confidence building measure.
Hon’ble Sir, this whole process has opened our eyes to the fact that in the absence of any official above the District Level Officers it is a “Herculean Task” to even get the proper information to verify the state of affairs of any Govt. Department, and the disadvantage is not limited to the Department of Health & Family Welfare but, for all Govt. Departments under the Govt. of Meghalaya, and Thus, we beseech you that an initiative be made to station at the least a Joint Secretary level bureaucrat (IAS) for all Departments in Garo Hills Region for Administrative Convenience
