Furore over stipend in pharma college

AHMEDABAD: LM Pharmacy College premises quaked with chaos on Friday as the parents of agitating students joined their wards in protesting against the non-payment of stipend. Students say college authorities have not paid them their stipend for the past one year.

The students said that their counterparts in all other colleges have been getting a monthly stipend of Rs 8,000. There are 80 students pursuing MPharm course at the college. The students pointed out that the grant for the stipend is given by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

The students have been asking the college to deduct their fees from their stipend and pay the remainder of the amount to them. They claim that this has been the norm. However, this time the college has made it compulsory for students to first pay their annual fee. It is on this issue that a stalemate has arisen and there have been no classes over the past month.

On Friday, the parents and students protested against the college's demand that students give an undertaking saying they would not ask for any stipend. They refused to give any such undertaking. The AICTE authorities had told a delegation of students who had recently gone to Delhi to discuss the issue that it was for the college to take up the matter.

The college said that it was discussing the matter with AICTE. A team of officials from the college would take up the matter with the AICTE next month in Delhi.