Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar on Saturday warned action against private medical colleges if they do not pay stipends to students at par with what the government paid.
Many students raised the issue with Sudhakar who was live on Facebook for an interaction hosted by Deccan Herald.
Specifically, students from the JJM Medical College in Davangere, which is run by a trust belonging to senior Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, complained of non-payment of stipend.
“I’m calling for a meeting with the management (of the institution). We will have to raise it with the Medical Council of India (MCI) also. It’s a serious issue, it’s an offence and inhuman. We will write to the MCI and take strict disciplinary action,” the minister said.
Earlier this month, the government hiked the stipend for medical students at all 17 government medical colleges. House residents, postgraduate students, superspecialty students and those on fellowship had their stipends hiked by almost 40%, Sudhakar said.
“We did this despite economic difficulty as a token of gratitude,” he said. “Private colleges have to just follow the kind of stipend the government is giving. This is the MCI guideline,” he said. “But I am told that students haven’t been paid since 18 months. I want to help them. We will solve this issue,” he said.
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