60 Medical Colleges Exposed for Failing to Pay Stipends, NMC Responds to RTI

An RTI report reveals that out of 290 government and 265 private medical colleges, including Deemed-to-be Universities, only 275 government and 238 private institutions provide stipends to interns, residents, and senior residents.

An RTI application was filed by Kerala-based health activist Dr KV Babu who had requested copies of the legal opinion obtained by the NMC regarding action against medical colleges in response to the show cause notice dated November 28, 2024, issued to 198 institutions. 

NMC earlier issued show cause notice to 198 medical institutes for The medical colleges failed to follow the Commission's directives to provide details about the stipends paid to interns and resident doctors. In a list released on November 28, 2024, the NMC stated that the failure of these colleges to submit stipend information was taken seriously as this concerns the interest of medicos. 

According to the notice obtained through the RTI Act, only 290 government and 265 private medical colleges, including Deemed-to-be Universities, provided their data as of July 11, 2024. The remaining 198 colleges (115 government and 83 private, including Deemed-to-be Universities) out of a total of 753 did not submit their data.

Among the 290 government colleges that provided stipend data, it appears that 257 government medical colleges are paying stipends to their interns, residents, and senior residents, while 33 are not. Similarly, of the 265 private medical colleges that submitted stipend data, 238 have provided stipends to their interns, residents, and senior residents, while 27 have not.

Despite this, the Commission has not taken any action against the colleges that failed to comply. When Dr. Babu filed another RTI asking for details on the actions taken by the Boards/NMC against these colleges for not following the Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations, 2023, the NMC responded that it was the responsibility of the States/UTs to take action, not the NMC.

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