Vet interns to protest on Aug 25 against delay in stipend hike

The Student Union of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) announced to hold a protest on August 25 against the delay in the hike in the internship stipend.

The Veterinary Student Union expressed dissatisfaction over the current stipend. Calling it “inadequately low” and not in line with inflation, nor comparable with the stipends of MBBS/BDS interns. The students also highlighted disparities with veterinary universities in other states, including Haryana, Rajasthan and Varanasi, where interns got higher stipend.

The union recounted its recent efforts, noting that on August 3, its representatives met Punjab’s Finance Minister, who had directed that a meeting be scheduled with student representatives and university officials. On August 13, during a telephonic exchange with the minister’s office, they were informed that the meeting would take place on September 4.

However, on August 18, the students learned that the meeting had already been held on the same day at the minister’s office with university officials, but without any representative of veterinary students union. “No prior intimation about this meeting was given to us either by the minister’s office or the university administration,” the union stated. “We were denied the opportunity to present our case, and the matter remains unresolved due to this.”