The Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) of the AIIMS here has opposed the administration's decision of conducting the 47th convocation virtually and has written to the institute's director demanding that the January 11 event be held physically in small batches with all COIVD-19 precautions.

The RDA has warned that if the demand was not met, its members would be forced to boycott the convocation and hold protest on the day of the event. In the letter to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director Dr Randeep Guleria, the RDA stated that the convocation, which has a distinct life-time importance for any student, was pending for more than two years. Whenever RDA executives approached the administration regarding dates of the convocation for the last two years, 'no confirmation from chief guest' was mentioned as the reason for the delay, it stated. But this 47th Convocation, which resident doctors have been waiting for a very long time now, was being organised virtually on a very short notice and the graduating batches for the past two years have been included at this, said the letter signed by RDA president Dr Adarsh Pratap Singh, the general secretary and the vice-president.

"AIIMS has pass-out batches every six months, but they have to wait over a year for convocation. Residents doctors worked day and night throughout their residency and amidst COVID-19 pandemic, but when the time of convocation came we are being asked to attend it virtually which is very disappointing and disheartening. "Not having it in physical form will dismay us profoundly and will break our motivation and trust in the administration. We believe that with all the infection control norms being followed during the ceremony, we can have a special physical convocation for the residents awaiting their special moment for so long," the RDA said in the letter.

It demanded a convocation to be held in physical form in small batches with all COVID-19 precautions and in a big auditorium/stadium be booked to convocate all batches at a time. They further said the convocation needs to be held timely so that there is no waiting of two years for the hard-earned degree. "Our demands are genuine and we believe the administration would take positive decisions, keeping the dignity of the degree and the ones receiving at the highest. If our demands not fulfilled, residents and RDA will be forced to boycott this convocation, hold protest in front of all dignitaries and parents on the day of the convocation outside JLN Auditorium," the letter stated.