Limited number of doctors accepted as civil servants

Limited number of doctors accepted as civil servants

JAKARTA (JP): More than 2,000 doctors who have dedicated their
services to the public were denied entry into the civil service
when the Ministry of Health limited recruitment to 300 this year.

A statement from the ministry's public relations office dated
Aug. 30, made available to The Jakarta Post yesterday, said
examinations were conducted last week to select 300 doctors out
of the 2,400 who registered.

Under a ministerial decree issued in 1991, the government
requires all graduates of medical school to undergo a three-year
period of compulsory service, known as PTT (Pegawai Tidak Tetap),
in small towns and remote places across the country as a way of
better distributing health services.

In the past, these doctors would automatically be recruited
into the civil service and work for the Ministry of Health after
completing the compulsory service period of two to five years.

Through the 1991 decree, instead of two to five years, the
compulsory service was shortened to three years and their
salaries hiked in line with the new system under which not
everyone will be recruited into the civil service.

The statement said that for the 1994-1995 fiscal year, the
Ministry of Administrative Reforms has ruled that the Ministry of
Health will recruit only 300 new doctors from the PTT program
because of limited funds.

Although the program has already sent five successive groups
as of August, the announcement said the positions available were
only open to the first and second groups.

Participants from the third group who also took the
examinations, would be posted according to further requirements
in 1995-1996, the announcement said.

Positions in the civil service remain at a premium because
they offer the possibility of a government scholarship for
doctors who undertake special fields.

The first group consists of 924 doctors, the second group 864,
the third group 597, the fourth group 804 and the fifth group 808
physicians. According to the announcement, at least 200 new
medical school graduates have registered for the sixth group of
the program.

Remote places

The PTT program requires doctors to work in remote places
across the country, which can be categorized into normal, remote
and very remote places.

Those placed in normal locations, meaning that the trip from
the community health centers (Puskesmas) to the province's
capital is less than 12 hours, earn a monthly salary of Rp
575,000 (US$265) while those in remote locations, where the trip
is between 24 to 36 hours with "relatively high risks" and where
general foodstuffs cost twice the normal price, earn Rp 977,500
per month.

Those in very remote locations, where the trip is between 24
to 36 hours with "very high risks", where transportation can be
potentially cut off completely at certain times of the year and
communication is hard to come by or non existent, earn Rp
1,207,500 per month.

The government has offered several alternatives to PTT doctors
who fail the civil service exams, including becoming civil
servants at ministries other than the Ministry of Health;
becoming employees of private and state companies; participating
in specialization courses on a self-funding basis; and working or
continuing studies abroad.(pwn)