NMC leaves MBBS interns to the mercy of private medical colleges

NMC leaves MBBS interns to the mercy of private medical colleges

TNN | Dec 24, 2021, 10.53 AM IST

The National Medical Commission, despite several representations from medical students that interns in private colleges be paid a stipend equivalent to that being paid in state government-run colleges, has notified that interns will be “paid stipend as fixed by the appropriate authority like the institute or university or the state in which candidate is doing internship”. This has already resulted in interns being paid stipend much lower than what is paid in government colleges in several states.

Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala Binoy Vishwam wrote to the NMC on December 8 pointing out that the stipend is paid “as a matter of right and not charity” and that NMC’s notification allowed “for great ambiguity and arbitrariness” in the stipend. “It may also result in management of private colleges denying a stipend to MBBS interns as they have complete discretion without any safeguarding mechanism,” stated the letter. In Kerala, most private colleges are paying interns Rs 6,000-15,000 when the state government pays Rs 25,000. In most states, private colleges pay roughly 30% less than what is paid in government colleges.

In the case of post graduate residency, the NMC schedule clearly mentions that “the residents of private medical college / Deemed Universities should be given stipend at par with that of PG residents of government medical colleges in that state”.

In 2017, the executive committee of the MCI did not approve the recommendation of the academic committee on internship allowance for MBBS students stating that graduate medical education (GME) regulations did not provide for payment of stipend to interns and thus the issue was beyond the purview of the MCI. However, in 2018, the Board of Governors that superseded the MCI considered introducing a provision into GME regulation that stated: "All the candidates pursuing compulsory rotating internship at the institution from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 / Union Territory where the institution is located."

The provision was never introduced and the BoG was dissolved, after which the MCI was replaced by the NMC, which was expected to tighten regulation of private colleges, something the MCI had been accused of not doing. However, the NMC, sought feedback on a Draft Regulation Compulsory Rotating Internship, 2021 on April 21 this year in which it left fixing of stipend to “appropriate authority”. No changes were made after feedback and the unchanged draft was gazetted on November 18.

“The central government has the power to intervene and change this decision of the NMC. Section 45 of the NMC Act states that the commission and the autonomous boards ‘in exercise of their powers and discharge of their functions under this Act, be bound by such directions on questions of policy as the Central Government may give’. This issue has been hanging fire from 2017, from the time of the MCI,” said Dr KV Babu, who has been writing to the ministry and the NMC seeking an urgent response on the issue.