NMC remains silent on action against 198 medical colleges for stipend violations
NEW DELHI: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has refused to share the action it has taken against 198 medical colleges and institutions that have not paid stipends to undergraduate interns, postgraduate residents, and senior residents.
Interestingly, the NMC issued show-cause notices to these 198 government and private medical colleges and institutions last November, which this paper first reported, for non-submission of the details of stipends paid to undergraduate interns, PG residents, and senior residents or PGs in super-speciality colleges and institutions.
The majority of medical colleges and institutions violating the norms are in Telangana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.
In an RTI reply, when asked what action it had taken against them, the NMC stated that “... as per available information, the matter is sub judice.”
Speaking with this paper, Kerala-based RTI activist Dr. K. V. Babu said, “The NMC has a track record of shielding private medical colleges, which are not complying with the NMC regulations regarding stipends for interns/PGs. Otherwise, how can they stonewall an RTI application about stipends paid to interns and PGs by invoking sub judice issues?”
“Why did they disclose the show-cause notice issued to 198 medical colleges on their website if it was sub judice? How will disclosing the stipend paid to interns and PGs affect the court proceedings? Even otherwise, the NMC itself has instructed the medical colleges to upload the details of stipends paid during the 2025 academic year onwards,” he added.
Dr. Babu had filed an RTI on December 12, 2024, seeking details of the stipends submitted by 115 government medical colleges and 83 private medical colleges based on the show-cause notice issued by the NMC on November 28, 2024; action taken based on the notice and colleges’ replies; and file notings.
In its reply on January 13, the NMC stated, “The matter has been transferred to the legal section UGMEB, NMC, and as per available information, the matter is sub judice.” The Undergraduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB) determines standards of medical education at the undergraduate level.
The NMC listed the names of the institutions on its website, including Delhi’s Maulana Azad Medical College, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences, and Dr. RML Hospital, only after the Supreme Court ordered them to submit the details of the stipends paid to the medical interns and residents.
Dr. Babu, who also filed an RTI in 2023 on this matter, said, "In an RTI response in 2023, they refused to share the details of college managements, which took back the stipend paid to 1,228 PGs, invoking third-party information. To date, there is nothing in the public domain about any action taken against those colleges."
In a letter dated November 28 last year, NMC Secretary Dr. B. Srinivas said that the “defaulting medical colleges are directed to furnish the data relating to payment of stipends during 2023-24 on the dedicated email ID stipend23-24@nmc.org.in immediately and within the next 3 days from the issue of this show-cause notice.”
In its show-cause notice, the NMC asked, “Why should penal action not be taken against them for failing to submit the information/details of the stipend paid?”
As many as 12 government medical colleges and institutions in Telangana and Rajasthan failed to submit the details of stipends. This was followed by states like Maharashtra (11), Karnataka (10), Tamil Nadu and Kerala (6 each), Jammu and Kashmir (5), and Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, and Jharkhand (4 each).
Similarly, the maximum number of violators among private medical colleges and institutions was from Telangana. As many as 13 such institutes failed to submit information on paid stipends to these interns and residents. It is followed by Karnataka (10), Maharashtra (9), Tamil Nadu (8), Uttar Pradesh (8), Gujarat (7), Andhra Pradesh (6), and Kerala (4).
Many resident doctors' associations, including FAIMA and FORDA, have raised the matter of medical colleges and institutions not paying interns and residents stipends despite making them work around the clock.
After the NHRC asked the NMC, they surveyed to ascertain the amount paid to UG/PG students in 2023. The survey showed that of the over 7,000 PG students, 2,000 did not receive stipends, most of whom were from private colleges.
Following the survey findings, the NMC warned these private medical colleges that action would be taken against them if they failed to pay their wages.
The NHRC had asked the NMC to deregister the private medical colleges, which refused to clear the arrears of interns from July 1, 2021. But this time, too, the NMC refused to disclose details of what action they had taken.
Not just a stipend, but there is also a disparity in the amount given to these interns and residents. The stipend for PG students varies from one state medical hospital to another. It ranges from Rs. 45,000 to Rs. 95,000. However, private medical colleges and hospitals pay PG students even less than Rs. 25,000; some pay them in instalments. Various resident doctors' associations have raised this matter time and time again.