On June 14, the All India Medical Students Association - Foreign Medical Graduates (AIMSA - FMG) wing wrote to the Dean of Dr Laxminarayan Pandey Medical College, Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh and urged him to address the issue of non-payment of stipends to the FMGs.
In the letter, the students urged the administration to sanction stipends for the interning FMGs currently undergoing the Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI).
Speaking to EdexLive, Dr Muhammad Tahir, who is a second-year intern at the same college, said, "After submitting the letter to the dean, we discussed the matter with the administration. However, the response has been unsatisfactory as they said they would sanction the stipends after receiving orders from the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) or National Medical Commission (NMC)."
"However, the DME and NMC orders instruct the government medical colleges to pay us stipends on par with the Indian medical graduates," shared Tahir, who is associated with the AIMSA-FMG wing.
According to NMC's notice dated November 22, 2023, regarding clarifications related to FMGs, "...students at the stage of CRMI, shall be eligible to receive stipend equivalent to the stipend received by IMGs of that college/ Institution."
Further, he claimed that the affected FMGs, who are around 40 in number, had met the administration more than seven times. "The administration has been reiterating that it would sanction the stipends only upon receiving orders from DME or NMC," a dismayed Tahir added.
Sharing his concerns, he said, "We have to travel to far away rural health centres (RHCs) for internships. Along with the financial burden, we are facing mental strain as well."
