19 January,2011 07:06 AM IST | | Astha Saxena
Staff and faculty won't abide by gag order
Two days after authorities at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) issued orders barring faculty members from speaking to media regarding any scientific issue, the faculty members have refused to toe the line .
The faculty members have released pamphlets and letters stating their opposition to the gag order. "We believe that these restrictive policies are actually attempts to curtail academic activism on the part of faculty. The administration should remember that the AIIMS faculty member are academicians too and not merely government servants," said one of the faculty members on the condition of anonymity.
u00a0"The primary functions of an academic community is learning, teaching, scholarship, and public service must be characterised by a fundamental commitment to academic freedom and maintained through reasoned discourse, intellectual honesty, mutual respect and openness to constructive criticism and change," added the member.
The series of orders which began to appear from December 14 also put a restriction on making any joint representations by the doctors, members and other employees of the institute.
"We will never follow such orders. No one can stop us from speaking to outside world and share any kind of information which is helpful for them. The doctors should share their knowledge with the people so that they remain aware about everything," said another doctor.
| The order |
| On 17th January, MiD DAY reported how the authorities in AIIMS were asking their doctors to not to communicate with the media regarding any scientific or any other issue. The institute in its recent letters has asked the doctors and the other head of the departments to not to communicate with media on any issue including any kind of scientific data too. The institute has formed a committee called, "Media co-ordination and Press Releases Committee" to look into the matter. |
