Indian Dental Student Striking Over Stipend
Dental students in India have expressed their anger at a lack of equality in the stipend they receive in comparison to medical students.
Postgraduate students across the state of Kozhikode are striking to protest against the higher stipend for medical students. Postgraduate dental students get Rs 16000, 17000 and 18000 per month for their first, second and third year respectively, while medical students get considerably more with payments of Rs 23000, 24000 and 25000 respectively.
Dr Sanjith George, president of the postgraduate association at the Kozhikode Government Dental College, the fees are the same for medical and dental courses and therefore it seems wrong for there to be such a considerable gap between the stipends for dental and medical students. He added that the health minister had promised to address the issue by October 2011 by this had not been delivered.
Many patients who were due to attend appointments were forced to go without treatment as a result of the strike but Dr Sanjith George said that there was no alternative but to strike.
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