Stipend eludes medicos in private colleges

​Hyderabad: Medicos pursuing postgraduate courses in private medical colleges in the State are facing a tough time because of non-payment of stipend. The college managements are not paying PG residents monthly stipend leading to financial difficulties for the students.

There are nearly 1,200 students, studying mostly broad-specialty (MD) and some super-specialty courses (DM) in different departments in the 10 plus private medical colleges in the State. However, there are no such issues for medicos pursuing PG study (junior doctors) in government medical colleges like Osmania and Gandhi. Telangana State government enhanced their stipend by a massive 55 per cent and accordingly postgraduates doing MD courses (broad-specialty) are getting salary in the range of Rs 44,075 to 48, 973, while for postgraduates doing DM (super-specialty) the stipend is in the range of Rs 48,973 to 53, 859.

A PG resident from a private medical college, who did not wish to be quoted, said that the college managements should be considerate to their difficulties and try to come to their rescue.

“Unlike MBBS course, PG study involves working in the teaching hospital associated with the medical college for almost 335 days in a year with just 30 permitted leaves. The PG students are deputed in different departments where they assist duty doctors and seniors in attending and treating patients visiting the hospital.

Considering the duties, we are doing, the college managements should make efforts to pay us every month. If PG students are not there, these colleges have to spend a lot on salaries of doctors,” the student said, adding that most of the PG students are in 25-35 age group, with some married and having the additional responsibility of looking after their families.

It may be mentioned here that MCI's Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) Regulations has a clause stipulating that postgraduate students should be paid the same stipend as in state-government-owned medical institutions. Private colleges were hauled up by MCI in the past for not following the rule, but there is no change in the situation.

MCI's Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) Regulations has a clause stipulating that postgraduate students should be paid the same stipend as in state-government-owned medical institutions.

In 2014 and 2015 academic years, private colleges collected stipend amount from students, three months in advance, only to return the sum every month for the next three months. Telangana State government hiked the fee for PG study in private medical colleges by 200 to 300 percent in last academic year as it wanted colleges to pay stipend from this amount instead of quarterly collection from the student.

However, the big hike in fee (convener quota-Rs 2.9 lakh per annum to Rs 6.9 lakh nearly) and for management quota (Rs 25 lakh and above) was opposed in the court by the medical fraternity. A stay was issued by the court and students were asked to pay half the fee initially until the court decided the case.

Private College managements cite this deadlock for non-payment of stipends to PG students. “It would have been convenient for college managements to pay monthly stipends if tuition fee had been increased as decided by the government. In the present scenario, colleges have to spend extra amount to pay stipend every year and it exceeds even the annual fee paid by the student. This would not be viable to run a college as it has to pay salaries for teaching and non-teaching staff in college and hospital,” chairman of a college said.

Telangana Junior Doctors Association (T JUDA) has been requested by residents from private medical colleges to take up their issue with the government. T JUDA chairman Dr P S Vijayender Goud urged the college managements not to look at stipend issue from fee angle, but to consider and recognise their service rendered by postgraduates on daily basis in hospitals for three-years of their study.