Govt orders KMC, JJM to pay stipend to MBBS interns

The Directorate of Medical Education (DME) directed Kasturba Medical College (KMC) in Mangaluru and JJM Medical college in Davangere to pay the stipend to interns of ‘government quota’ and has ended the issue.

Sources in the DME told DH, that the KMC acting on the government’s orders had released the stipend, pending since 10 months, to 51 interns under government quota without further delay.

“An amount of Rs 2 lakh was deposited in the bank accounts of MBBS interns,’’ sources in district Wenlock Hospital said.

JJM Medical College Principal Dr S B Murgesh, when contacted, informed that the management had to take a decision on releasing the stipend.

On February 12, 51 young doctors, completing their mandatory one-year of house surgeon-ship in government-run hospitals, were forced to stage a dharna after their appeals to release the stipend had fallen on deaf ears.

These doctors since their posting as interns in District Wenlock, Lady Goschen hospitals and other urban community health centres had not received their stipend for the past 10 months. The frequent trips to Bengaluru to meet officials and ministers did not yield any results.

The medical colleges insisted that the government should pay stipend as the students were enrolled under the government quota through CET examinations. In 2018, Additional Chief Secretary (Department of Health and Family Welfare) had ordered the Directorate of Medical Education to stop payment of stipends.

Additional Chief Secretary had ordered government college in Davangere and Wenlock district hospital to pay the stipends from their ARS (Arogya Raksha Samithi) fund. When interns met Wenlock hospital Superintendent Dr Rajeshwari Devi H R, the latter had claimed that there was no money in the ARS fund.

Post-agitation, under secretary (Medical Education) B V Maruthi Prasanna ordered the KMC and the JJM Medical colleges to pay the stipend to the MBBS interns. Undersecretary in the letter pointed out that the office of Accountants General (AG) during auditing had objected to the government paying stipends to the MBBS interns from private medical colleges.

The Undersecretary also drew the attention of colleges to a decision of Medical Council of India (MCI) and asserted that medical colleges without its own hospital should pay the stipend to its students.