No Rs 15k rejoining fee for PG medicos after maternity leave: KNRUHS issues guidelines
Hyderabad: Postgraduate medical students in Telangana who undergo maternity leave during their residency will no longer have to pay a rejoining fee, the Kaloji Narayana University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) has clarified.
Writing to the Heads of all medical and dental institutes affiliated with KNRUHS, the Registrar of the University clarified that all women PG medical students will now be eligible for a maternity leave period and the period of study for the PG medical course shall be extended equal to the leave period.
Apart from this, the University has also added that the college principal should admit the PG medicos immediately after they report back for duty from maternity leave, and the rejoining fee will not be applicable for such students.
According to the University, the PG residents can also avail the balance of leaves in that academic year after rejoining and during the extension period.
The clarification from the University comes after the repeated representations from the junior resident doctors in Telangana in this regard. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the junior doctors in Telangana had urged the authorities to issue clear guidelines, financial security, and institutional support for the female postgraduate students availing maternity leave.
Writing to the Government authorities, including the Health Minister, and the Vice Chancellor of KNRUHS, the doctors under the Telangana Junior Doctors Association (TJUDA) highlighted the persistent and serious challenges faced by women postgraduates during maternity leave. Further, the doctors also pointed out in the letter how the subsequent rejoining process is causing significant academic, financial, and emotional distress among the students.
As per T-JUDA, the female postgraduates, who avail maternity leave, are suffering because there are no clearly defined or uniformly implemented university guidelines regarding maternity leave, extensions, rejoining procedures. Another issue that the association pointed out is the delayed and costly rejoining process after the maternity leave period is over. Allegedly, after completing the mandatory three-month maternity leave, female postgraduates are forced to pay a rejoining fee of ₹15,000. Even after payment, they are required to wait 15–20 days or longer for university approval. During this waiting period, they are frequently denied access to departmental, academic, and clinical facilities
The association had also highlighted that the female PG students do not get any stipend during the extension period and they are also not permitted to avail casual leave during the extension period, even in cases of medical emergencies or child-related health concerns.
Earlier, the doctors under the Telangana Senior Resident Doctors Association (TSRDA) had raised the issue and highlighted the hurdles faced by the female postgraduate medical doctors working in government and private hospitals in Telangana during maternity leave.
After receiving these representations, the University has now issued clarification regarding the maternity leave policy for the UG, PG and Super Speciality Students.
Writing to the heads of dental and medical institutes affiliated with the University, the KNURHS Registrar addressed the issue of maternity leave and mentioned, "With references to the above, I am by direction to inform you that the readmission of students after availing leave in all UG (MBBS, BDS), PG (MD/MS, MDS) and Super Speciality courses shall be strictly governed by the orders of the Government, University rules and regulations, and the National Medical Commission (NMC)/DCI guidelines, as amended from time to time."
It further mentioned, "All the Principals/Deans of Government and Private Medical and Dental Colleges offering UG, PG and Super Speciality courses affiliated to KNRUHS are hereby instructed strictly to adhere the following rules and procedures while permitting the students to rejoin after leave:"
Rules for Readmission
Leave up to 90 days: If a student avails leave for a period less than or equal to 90 days, permission is accorded by the Principal/Dean of the respective college, and allow the students to rejoin and attend the classes immediately upon reporting to the college.
Leave exceeding 91 days: If a student remains on leave for a period exceeding 91 days, the Principal/Dean shall:
- Inform the candidate to submit a Readmission Application in the prescribed proforma (Annexures VI and VII), along with all relevant supporting documents;
- Ensure payment of readmission fee of 15,000/- (Rupees Fifteen Thousand only) by Demand Draft drawn in favour of Registrar, KNRUHS, payable at Warangal:
Allow the candidate to rejoin and attend the classes immediately upon reporting to the college by submitting the relevant documents.
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Forward the readmission application of the student to the Registrar, KNRUHS, along with relevant documents, without any delay, and submit the joining report of the candidate to the University without fail.
Break of study in more than one spell:
If the break of study of 91 days or more occurs in multiple spells, the case shall be:
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Placed before the Executive Council of KNRUHS, and
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Forwarded to the Government of Telangana for appropriate orders.
Continuous or cumulative absence of two years or more:
If a student remains continuously absent for a period of two years or more, or if the cumulative period of absence exceeds two years, the admission shall be deemed to have been forfeited, and the studentship shall stand cancelled automatically, without any further notice. The provisions of the NMC Regulations, as amended from time to time, shall apply in all such cases.
MATERNITY LEAVE POLICY FOR WOMEN POST GRADUATE STUDENTS
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All Women Postgraduate students are eligible for maternity leave as per relevant government orders in force. The period of study for the postgraduate course shall be extended equal to the leave period.
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The respective principals of the colleges, on receipt of a maternity leave request, it may be communicated to the KNRUHS for information and maternity leave will be sanctioned by the University.
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Once the Postgraduate reports back for duty from maternity leave, the College Principal should admit them immediately. Later to send intimation to the University.
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As maternity leave is different from other unauthorized absence, hence the rejoining fee is not applicable.
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The balance of leaves in that academic year, if not availed, can be used after rejoining and during extension period.
"In this regard, all the Principals/Deans of Medical and Dental Colleges are hereby informed to strictly follow the above rules scrupulously and to avoid any inconvenience to students at the time of rejoining for regular attendance of classes upon reporting. This is for STRICT COMPLIANCE," added the University.
M.A in English Barsha completed her Master's in English from the University of Burdwan, West Bengal in 2018. Having a knack for Journalism she joined Medical Dialogues back in 2020. She mainly covers news about medico legal cases, NMC/DCI updates, medical education issues including the latest updates about medical and dental colleges in India. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in.
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