Raipur dental students protest seeking stipend parity with MBBS medicos

At the centre of the protest is the sharp difference in monthly payments. While MBBS interns in the state now receive Rs 15,900 and MD/MS postgraduate students get Rs 67,500 or more, dental interns are paid only Rs 12,600 per month.

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Postgraduate dental students in Raipur receive between Rs 53,000 and Rs 59,000, which they say is much lower compared to both medical students in the state and dental PGs in cities such as Cuttack, Patna, Mumbai, Pune, and KGMU Lucknow and in other parts of the country.

To highlight this disparity, they displayed comparative posters at the protest site showing stipend rates for postgraduate dental students in government colleges across India.

Students also pointed to official government notifications showing that the Chhattisgarh government has already approved higher stipends for MBBS interns and postgraduate doctors. Under the revised structure, MBBS interns receive Rs 15,900 per month, while first-year MD/MS students receive Rs 67,500, with further increases in later years.

Following this, the agitated students argued that they have been left out of these revisions despite having similar duty hours, patient load, emergency responsibilities, and academic requirements. 

Speaking to India Today, a student said, "This gap is too wide to ignore. We are doing the same hospital work, but our stipends are far lower."

Another student said, "We work in OPDs, wards, and emergency services just like medical PGs. The only difference is that we have to buy our own instruments."

On January 21, the All India Dental Students and Surgeons Association (AIDSA) wrote to the Health Minister regarding the ongoing peaceful protest by undergraduate, intern, and postgraduate dental students of Government Dental College, Raipur.

In the letter, AIDSA said the students are demanding stipend revision with parity for dental interns and postgraduates, with retrospective effect, and equal recognition for dentists as an integral part of the healthcare system.

The association also raised concerns over basic welfare and infrastructure issues, including girls’ hostel safety, non-digital OPDs, inadequate RVG machines, non-functional dental chairs, and lack of proper canteen facilities. AIDSA stated that students have maintained discipline and ensured uninterrupted patient care throughout the protest.

"AIDSA humbly requests your kind intervention for early dialogue and fair resolution, upholding the principle that: Dentistry is healthcare. Same duty deserves same stipend," mentioned the letter. 

Another major concern raised by the students is the high cost of dental education. A poster titled "Expense Wall" listed items that postgraduate dental students are required to purchase on their own. These include micromotors, laptops, surgical kits, apex locators, implant kits, articulators, loupe systems, endomotors, conference fees and thesis-related expenses.

According to them, these costs often run into lakhs of rupees and must be borne personally. They said that these are essential tools and not optional items.

“These are not optional purchases,” a student said. “Without these instruments, we cannot treat patients or complete our training. On average, a PG student spends over Rs 1.5 lakh, and that makes it very hard to manage expenses with the current stipend.”

The protesters said "The disparity is not just financial but also affects mental health and academic performance. We are constantly under stress because of money. That should not be the case when we are working full-time in a government hospital."

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