Kolkata: The West Bengal government has cancelled an ongoing promotion exercise for teaching positions in the Medical Education Service and ordered a fresh round of applications and interviews for faculty posts in state-run medical colleges and hospitals, an official said on Thursday.

According to a notification issued by the Directorate of Medical Education on Wednesday, the promotion panel prepared following interviews conducted in March for the posts of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor has been scrapped.

The government has directed authorities to begin the selection process afresh, requiring eligible candidates, including those who had participated in the earlier exercise, to submit new applications.

As per the revised schedule, online applications will be accepted from June 15 to June 30, while dates for fresh interviews will be announced later.

The move comes amid a review of decisions taken by the previous administration following the change of government in the state.

Health Department data show that the state's medical education system currently has 226 vacant posts of Professor, 471 posts of Associate Professor and 328 posts of Assistant Professor.

Sources said interviews for promotions to these posts had already been completed in March, with candidates from various medical disciplines appearing before selection boards. A panel had reportedly been prepared on the basis of those interviews.

The government has not specified the reasons for cancelling the earlier panel.

"The decision has come as a surprise because the interview process had already been completed and many candidates were expecting promotion orders," a senior doctor associated with a state-run medical college said on condition of anonymity.

Another faculty member said the move had created uncertainty among teaching doctors who had been awaiting the outcome of the selection process for several months.

Officials of the Health Department declined to comment on the reasons behind the cancellation.