Hike in Stipend: GADVASU students postpone strike after minister's assurance

Tribune News Service

Manav Mander

Ludhiana, June 13

Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Monday met the protesting veterinary students and assured them of a positive step towards increasing their stipend. The strike by the students had entered day eight today.

Dhaliwal said the issue is of prime concern and government has started the proceedings according to protocols to get the Finance Department to issue funds for the stipend.

The assurance was met by a positive response by the students who agreed to postpone the strike in lieu of the minister’s statement till further proceedings.

The Veterinary Council of India in a letter addressed to the Punjab CM Bhagwan Singh Mann has also supported the students demands. The Punjab State Veterinary Officers Association (PSVOA) reassured the students that in any circumstance of a need to extend the strike, veterinary services in the entire state would be suspended in support. Protesting students are demanding increment in internship allowance and were on indefinite strike since June 6.

Presently, they are getting Rs 6,200 as stipend which is very low as compared to other state universities.

BVSc and Animal Sciences programme includes one year of compulsory internship for which students are given monthly allowance. Despite being the number one university in the state, the allowance given to the students is meagre amount.

“We have been toiling hard since long to get our internship allowance enhanced but nothing has been done so far. We are putting lot of hard work and internship allowance is our right but what we are being paid is peanuts. As compared to other states, what we are getting is not even their fifty per cent,” said a final student Gurbir Singh.

Another student, Jashandeep Singh said: “As compared to the neighbouring states, students here are paying more fees but in comparison to that the stipend given is less.”

Another student, Ramanpreet Singh said Punjab’s dairy sector contributes a major share in the GDP which is all due to the services provided by the vet varsity but the sad fact remains is that students are not paid properly for their internship. “We are working as assistants with the senior doctors 24x7 and we deserve to be paid for our hard work,” he said

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