JHANG: Up to 107 trainees, enrolled with the Jhang General Nursing School’s midwifery classes, have not been paid their stipend for the last eight months.

Sources said the school admitted the candidates for a two-year midwifery course promising them a Rs6,000 monthly stipend for food, uniform and other expenditures. The students have to live in a hostel for they perform duty at the Jhang District Headquarters hospital to tack care of patients.

One of the trainees, seeking anonymity, said she was from a village and belonged to a poor family. She said it was becoming harder for her to bear expenditures on food and study material.

District Health Authority Chief Executive Officer Dr Shahid Saleem confirmed the school principal had demanded budget for the school, including the stipend money, and the demand had been forewarned to the Punjab Health Department.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2017