NEW DELHI: Thousands of MBBS students working as interns in private medical colleges could benefit as the Board of Governors of the Medical Council of India issues a public notice proposing to make it mandatory for such colleges to pay stipends at par with those paid by the state and central governments. Interns in most private medical colleges are made to work for free or are paid meagre salaries.

The public notice states that it is being considered to amend the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997 to include a provision to this effect. It asked for comments and suggestions on the amendment in 15 days’ time.

The MCI had received complaints from several states regarding non-payment of stipends in private colleges. In May 2016, the Kerala state medical council received a complaint which was forwarded to the MCI in January 2017, stating that the issue was not under its domain.

Private colleges in Kerala were found to pay a stipend of less than Rs 4,000 per month. This was despite the fact that the state government ordered an increase in stipend from Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 for all interns in government, private and self-financing medical colleges in June 2015.

Interns from Karnataka had also complained to the MCI. The MCI; however, decided in its executive committee meeting in September 2017 that the matter was beyond its purview as the graduate medical education (GME) regulations do not provide for payment of stipend to interns. This was despite a recommendation from the MCI academic committee in favor of the interns.

While the MCI’s post graduate medical education (PGME) regulation has a clause that provides for payment of stipend, at par with what is paid in the state government-run institutions, to post graduate students, there is no such clause in the GME regulations.

The MCI has; however, amended rules in the past where needed. Despite several complaints from MBBS interns, the council did not change the GME regulations. The Indian Medical Association had also written to the MCI supporting the interns.

Since then, stipend has been changed in several states. It was increased in Tamil Nadu from Rs 13,000 to Rs 20,000 w.e.f. April 2018. On January 1, 2019, the Union Health Ministry raised the stipend for interns in Central government medical colleges from Rs 17,000 to Rs 23,500 per month with retrospective effect from January 1, 2018.