Chennai: Post-Graduate students and interns of the medical colleges in Chennai protested on Monday against the low stipend. About 100 students from Madras Medical College (MMC), Stanley Medical College and Kilpuak Medical College gathered to demand hike in their monthly stipend. The students have been protesting for several weeks now, and have even met the State health secretary and placed their demands before him, they said.
“At Rs 17, 400 per month, we are the lowest paid PG medical students in the country,†a student from MMC said. “All we are asking for is that we be paid on par with the doctors who work for the State government and get Rs 45,000 per month. This is not an unreasonable request,†he added.
A student from Stanley Medical College exclaimed that she still could not support her family after studying for many years. “My parents are over 50 years old and I hate to still depend on them for financial assistance but I have no other choice,†she said.
The interns, too, are unhappy with their stipend. “We get only Rs 8,500 but interns in Kerala are paid Rs 15, 000,†an intern said.
A senior health department official said a representation to this effect had been made by the students and was being examined.