by Rajesh Mishra in The Kathmandu Post, May 3, 2023
Nepali medical students studying at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, India, have been raising their voices against the unequal benefits provided to them by the medical institute compared to their Indian counterparts.
At least 50 Nepali students are currently enrolled in MD, MS, MDS, DM, and MCH courses and working as resident doctors in one of India’s top medical colleges. They say the institute has failed to provide them with monthly stipends.
Dr Sagar Paudel, who acquired his MD degree from AIIMS in 2021, says that despite the universal practice of medical institutions providing resident doctors with stipends, AIIMS has failed to do so. “When pursuing a Master’s level degree, a medical student is expected to spend more hours serving at the hospital than taking lessons in a classroom for credit,” said Paudel. “The hospital in return is supposed to pay stipends to students for their duty hours, but Nepali students at AIIMS have been deprived of the allowance.”
According to Paudel, several Nepali medical students have time and again drawn the attention of the governments of India and Nepal to the stipend issue. “Last month, we met Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal in Baluwatar and submitted a memorandum to address the issue of Nepali students at AIIMS in India,” said Paudel. “We hope this issue will be discussed with the Indian authorities during his upcoming visit to India.”
AIIMS offers specialist medical education in various subjects of medicine. Every six months, the institute opens subject-wise admission for students both of Indian and foreign origins. The institute sets aside a quota of one or two seats for foreign students in most subjects. Previously medical students from Bangladesh and Bhutan would seek admission at AIIMS under the foreign quota, but of late, it’s mostly Nepali students who apply.
According to Dr Sridhar Paudel, who is currently pursuing an MD in Radiology at AIIMS, at least 10 to 12 Nepali students get admission to a Master’s programme every admission season at the institute. Indian students studying the same subjects (MD, MS, MDS, DM, and MCH) at AIIMS receive INR90,000 per month. But the same financial support is not extended to Nepali students.
“Nepali students do not get any remuneration even after working straight for 24 to 36 hours at the hospital,” said Sridhar. “We all have been raising our voices about this unjust treatment, but so far nothing has changed. Our Indian counterparts get stipends for their duty hours at the hospital, but not us.”…….
https://kathmandupost.com/national/2023/05/03/nepali-students-at-aiims-deprived-of-monthly-stipend
