Medical Recruitment Board to conduct exam on Jan 27 to recruit 2,553 doctors in TN

CHENNAI: The Medical Recruitment Board will conduct an exam on Jan 27, 2025 for recruiting 2,553 doctors, Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian said on Thursday. The online examination, to be conducted by an external agency, would help the health department fill vacancies that would arise until 2026, the minister told reporters in Chennai.

In March, the MRB invited applications to fill 2,553 doctors' posts in Tamil Nadu Medical Service. The process was interrupted by elections. July 15 was the revised last date. The MRB received nearly 24,000 applications till then.

“The board is verifying documents submitted by the candidates. Officials have spoken to agencies that can conduct exams. We wanted the exam in one phase because there is a risk of paper leaks if exams are conducted in more than one phase. We have decided that all candidates will take the online test together on Jan 27,” he said.

Earlier this week, at least two govt doctors’ associations pointed out that nearly 30% of the sanctioned posts of doctors in govt hospitals were vacant. They said the department was delaying fresh recruitments by not conducting the MRB exams.

The minister said associations were exaggerating the vacancy situation in hospitals and political leaders like Seeman were not updated with information about vacancy positions.

“The state has made more than 18,000 appointments for the health department, including more than 5,000 by the MRB,” he said.

“The delays are not new. The previous MRB recruitment process for 1,021 posts was delayed for several months as candidates, including those who worked in GHs during Covid, moved courts seeking incentives. The notification was issued in Oct 2022, but the recruitments were completed only in Feb 2024,” he said.


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