Medical colleges will have to upload monthly stipend data or Face Action: NMC Secretary
New Delhi: Medical Colleges will have to upload monthly reports on the stipend given by them to the medicos or face severe action, Dr B Srinivas, Secretary of the National Medical Commission (NMC) told Medical Dialogues.
"NMC is really with the students, with the resident doctors. We had made it very clear by putting it on the website that all the colleges have to put their stipend, whatever they are giving, every month on their websites. As of now, we are demanding the data for one year," Dr. Srinivas said.
He also informed that the data collected on the stipend paid to the medical colleges in the last year will also be presented to the Supreme Court in the upcoming hearing.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the Supreme Court listed the matter concerning the non-payment of stipends to medical students for further hearing on 6th May 2024. Complying with the Court's directions, the National Medical Commission (NMC) recently asked the medical colleges to submit the details of the stipend paid to the medical students for the academic year 2023-2024.
"We are going to collect this data and the court case will be heard on 6th May. Before that, we will compile the data and submit it before the Court. Action will be taken against those colleges which will be negligent on this," Dr. Srinivas said.
"The Supreme Court also wants to take severe action in this case. As a first, we are compiling the data," he further informed. The conversation came in the backdrop of the 64th annual day programme of the National Academy of Medical Sciences.
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Medical Dialogues had been reporting about the complaints from MBBS interns and resident doctors alleging that they were not receiving stipend or receiving a meagre amount despite working in the hospitals round the clock. These complaints mainly come from medical students belonging to the private medical colleges.
The Supreme Court took cognisance of the issue while considering a plea filed by five MBBS students studying at Army College of Medical Sciences (ACMS) affiliated with Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University seeking a stipend for the period of internship.
During the hearing of the case, the counsel for the students Advocate Vaibhav Gagghar informed the bench that a recent NMC report stated that 70 per cent of the medical colleges in the country were not paying stipends to their interns.
Noting this, the bench has directed the NMC counsel Advocate Gaurav Sharma to respond to the claim and file an affidavit in its order dated 15.09.2023. NMC was told to submit an affidavit giving a tabulated chart of colleges which were paying the stipend to the interns and which were not paying.
However, earlier this month, the Apex Court noted that the details submitted by NMC were not of all the medical colleges across all the States. Accordingly, the top court bench comprising Justices Sudhanshhu Dhulia and Prasanna Bhalachandra Varale ordered on April 01, 2024, "The details which have been given by the National Medical Commission is not of the entire medical colleges in the States and therefore, the direction given by this Court in its order dated 15.09.2023 at para 10 had not been complied with. Let the same be done positively within a period of four weeks from today."
Following the Supreme Court's directions, NMC issued a notice on 16.04.2024 and asked the medical colleges to submit the details of the stipend paid to their UG Interns, Post-Graduate Residents, and Senior Residents or PGs in Super Specialty for the financial year 2023-24 by 23rd April 2024.
The medical colleges will have to submit the details of their name and address, the amount of stipend paid by the State Government, and the month-wise details of the stipend paid to the MBBS interns, 1st/2nd/3rd-year Post-Graduate Residents, and 1st/2nd/3rd-year Senior Residents or PGs in Super Specialty for the academic year 2023-2024.
"Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in the WP (Civil) No. 730/2022 & other cases vide their orders dt. 16.09.2023 and 01.04.2024 has directed NMC to submit the details of stipends paid to the Medical interns and residents and accordingly, all the Health Institutions / Medical colleges are hereby directed to submit to NMC the details of stipend paid to their UG Interns, Post-Graduate Residents and Senior Residents or PGs in Super Specialty for the financial year 2023-24 as per Annexure 1 on E-mail ID by 23.04.2024 positively," NMC mentioned in the notice.
NMC has provided a similar annexure for the details of the stipend paid to medical students for the academic year 2024-2025. However, in this regard, NMC directed the colleges concerned to update these details on the website of the institute every month (by 5th of every month). The colleges have been asked to submit the complete statement to NMC at the end of each financial year.
