Medical students oppose draft rules on fixing of stipend

Medical students oppose draft rules on fixing of stipend

TNN | Jul 26, 2021, 03.57 AM IST

Medical students are disappointed by the proposed rules on fixation of stipend amount for MBBS interns. Instead of paying stipend on par with what is paid to MBBS interns in state government medical colleges, the National Medical Commission has proposed that stipend be fixed by the fee fixation committee of the respective state or university.

The draft regulation for compulsory rotating internship put out by the NMC states: “All interns shall be paid stipend as fixed by the appropriate fee fixation authority as applicable to the institution /university/state”.

Medical students and public health activists pointed out that this was vague and gave ample opportunity for private medical college managements to deny stipend to MBBS interns. Federation of All India Medical Associations founding chairperson Dr Manish Jangra stated that even before this proposed regulation, many private colleges paid stipend partially or fully only on paper. “This new draft regulation will lead to further uncertainty,” said Jangra.

On the subject of medical interns and their compulsory rotatory residential internship (CRRI) period, four Lok Sabha MPs asked on July 23 whether there is exploitation of young doctors in the country with minimal pay, which would affect their career. Bharati Pravin Pawar, junior health minister, replied: “Health being a state subject, the concerned state decides the salary and allowances for the doctors working in the public health facilities. Therefore, no such information is maintained centrally.”

The Board of Governors (BOG) of the Medical Council of India after it had taken over in October 2018 had proposed to include a provision in the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education which stated: “All the candidates pursuing compulsory rotating internship at the institution from which MBBS course was completed, shall be paid stipend on par with the stipend being paid to the interns of the State Govt. Medical Institution / Central Government Medical Institution in the state/UT where the institution is located.”