150 ophthalmic assistant posts vacant in State

Despite having 580 posts across the State, there are only four chief ophthalmics for the entire State, all designated across government hospitals in Bangalore.

Karnataka State Opthalmic Assistants’ Association organised a state-level conference and science workshop here on Thursday, where they submitted a list of the demands to the government. Among the demands was increasing the number of ophthalmics in the State.

“Although there are many students who have completed their diploma in ophthalmic assistance, the government is yet to begin their recruitment process. There are nearly 150 posts vacant in the State at present,” said D Raju, honorary president of the association.

He said there were only four chief ophthalmics in the State and all four were posted in Bangalore. “There is a need for at least one chief ophthalmic in each district in the State,” he added.

Among their other demands, ophthalmic assistants want pay scale as per junior engineer category. At present, they are paid according to ‘first division assistant’ category, even though they have a diploma.