LARKANA: Male and female house job students from three public nursing colleges in Larkana staged a protest demonstration outside the local press club on Monday against the non-payment of their stipends for the past five months.
Carrying placards and chanting slogans against the health authorities, protesting Nursing House Officers — including Muzammil Hussain Odhano, Insaf Ali Sargani, Asifa Bhutto and Hina Ali Gohar Mahesar —told reporters that despite completing their nursing degrees, they have been performing house job duties across various departments of Chandka Medical College Hospital without remuneration.
They stated that although their stipend amounts had already been approved by the Secretariat, payments remained withheld. The protesters explained that repeated appeals to the Director of Nursing Sindh, the administrations of the Male College of Nursing Larkana, the Female College of Nursing Larkana, and the Benazir College of Nursing Larkana, as well as other relevant authorities, had yielded no results, subjecting them to severe financial hardship.
The protesters cited a notification issued on Dec 23, 2025 by former Sindh Health Secretary Rehan Iqbal Baloch which states that with the approval of the Sindh chief minister, a paid internship was granted to graduates of BS Nursing (Generic) enrolled in public sector nursing colleges under the administrative control of the health department.
According to the notification, a monthly stipend of Rs30,000 per internee was sanctioned from the financial year 2026–27 onwards. Under the policy, internees are required to undergo a 52-week hospital-based internship in accordance with Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council guidelines at their respective affiliated hospitals, with institute transfers or migrations strictly prohibited.
Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2026
