Hundreds of students from various private Nursing Colleges in the Rajshahi region are facing disparity and neglect for years. Rajshahi Medical College authorities have suspended the facility of practice of Internships for students of B.Sc. courses in Nursing from other institutions. Though the students of those private colleges have the facilities of practising the internship in the hospitals affiliated with those colleges, the students are being forced to assign their duties even 12 hours a day without any allowance or honorarium. Such is the situation of several thousand students of 11 private Nursing Colleges in Rajshahi. Despite the government's directions to pay a monthly allowance of Tk. 7,000 per intern student for six months of probation period totalling Tk. 42,000, none of the students are paid even a penny, rather, fees on various pleas are realised from these students by the concerned institutions.
According to sources, Nursing education is offered in the country through three courses under the Bangladesh Nursing and Midwifery Council(BNMC). The government recognised the four-year B.Sc.-in-Nursing courses as equal to the Honours courses. After the completion of the academic course, it is mandatory for a student to practice a six-month Internship course at the hospital. The students have to conduct their duties in three shifts in the morning, evening and at night, six days a week.
Sources informed, 509 students have completed the B.Sc.-in-Nursing courses from 14 Nursing Colleges affiliated with Rajshahi
Medical University in 2017-'18 session. Of them, 264 students from three government Nursing Colleges received a nominal Internship Allowances while the rest 235 students from 11 private Nursing Colleges were deprived of receiving any allowance, rather, they were allegedly facing harassment and punishment from the college authorities. They have to follow the strict regulations and the rules of the colleges. Even if a student arrives one minute late at the ward of hospital, she or he is shown absent in the Attendance Register and is forced to perform mandatory overduty as a punitive measure.
Within a year, nearly 1,500 students of the next two sessions of 2018-'19 and 2019-'20 will start their Internship courses. These students are likely to face the same situation.
According to a notification issued from the Ministry of Labour and Employment and signed by Deputy Secretary Farzana Sultana under the directive of the President, it is mentioned that during the probation period, every Intern will receive a total of Tk. 7,000 per month. The notification came into effect from November-28,2022 but, the order has not been carried out even after 10 months.
Sources further mentioned, the Nursing College authorities realise thousands, even millions of Taka from students as Tuition Fees and many other fees, but the colleges never bother for the Internships practice of their students. Even, most of the colleges do not have their own hospital. Those colleges were just cheating their students.
In Rajshahi, the Islami Bank Nursing College, Barind Nursing College, M.Rahman Nursing College and the Diabetic Association Nursing College have their own hospitals. But, these college authorities also do not pay any honorarium to their students during their probation period.
Only those conduct Interns at Islami Bank Hospital in Dhaka are paid a lumpsum amount of honorarium but Islami Bank Hospital authorities in Rajshahi do not pay any honorarium for their students. However, Intern doctors at the same hospital receive an honorarium of Tk 15,000 to 20,000 per month each while Senior Staff Nurses are paid an honorarium of Tk. 20,000 to 35,000 per month each. But, even after performing the same duty, the probationary Intern Nurses are totally deprived of receiving any such allowance or honorarium.
Ashikur Rahman Akash, former Joint Secretary of Central Committee of SBGSN, an organisation of Nursing Students, informed,' We are deprived everywhere. No one is to resolve our problem. I completed the Internship from Sirajganj Medical College by paying fees but according to the rules I am supposed to receive Tk.42,000 (in six months during the probation period). We are being discriminated against even after performing the same duty.' He further mentioned he contacted the Sohrawardi Hospital in Dhaka where the authorities allegedly demanded Tk. 10,000 from him and the Rangpur Medical Hospital demanded Tk.5,000.
Sagar, a student who completed the B.Sc.-in-Nursing from Udayan Nursing College in Rajshahi informed, ' Rajshahi Medical College Hospital authorities do not allow us to conduct Internship there, let alone the honorarium. Alvi Hasan Anik, a fourth-year B.Sc. student of Diabetic Association Nursing College informed,' The students of the private colleges are not paid any honorarium rather an amount is charged from them for the six months of intern period. It is completely injustice. Why are we not allowed to perform duties at the government hospitals?' he questioned.
Nursing Association leaders have demanded to end the disparity and to implement the notification issued by the Ministry of Labour by all private Nursing Colleges soon. They also said they are planning to start a movement in this connection. None of the Principals of the Nursing Colleges in Rajshahi received a phone call to talk about the issue. Brigadier General Shamim Ahmed, Director of RMCH in this regard claimed, the Nursing Sector is not his concern and he can not give any information in this connection.