Establishment of two medical colleges in two provinces proposed

Kathmandu, Jan 12 : The government has proposed establishment of two medical colleges in remaining two provinces with its own investment.

According to the National Medical Education Bill, 2075 presented in the Parliament by the Education and Health Committee under the federal Parliament, medical colleges will be opened in Province 2 and Far-West Province within next five years. With this, all seven provinces will have medical colleges. The information was shared at a press conference here on Saturday.

The Bill has also proposed opening of a medical education university besides recommending investigations into medical colleges operating in breach of set standards. Likewise, formation of a Medical Education Commission under the chairpersonship of Prime Minister has also been suggested for monitoring operation of medical college.

Commenting on the Bill, the Education and Health Committee member Yogesh Bhattarai expressed the hope that the Bill formulated in coordination with various medical sectors would bring about drastic changes in medical sector.

“Some standards have been set to run medical college. Affiliation will be scrapped if a medical college is found running in defiance of the standards, according to the Bill proposal,” he said.

The Bill has specified a provision that all medical colleges would be transformed into the service-oriented and non-profit-making institutions within 10 years. It has also made arrangement for centralized entrance examination for medical education from now onward.

The Bill also has come up with a new provision that the Nepali students going abroad for medical education and foreign students coming to pursue medical education in Nepal should pass the centralized examination.

Likewise, the Bill has also noted that the students pursuing medical, dental and nursing education would be obliged to pay tuition fee on installments.

Committee member Bhattarai said that the bill also has made arrangement for scholarships for the students belonging to the families of martyr, conflict-survivors, disappeared and injured of the People’s Movement (Janaandolan) as well as female students.

Likewise, the hospital having track record of three years of operation should have 300 beds for running medical college and 100 beds for dental and nursing college.

Bhattarai further shared that the Bill has more reformative provisions in the medical sector than the demands put forth by Dr Govidna KC.

Meanwhile, Bijaya Thapa, a youth, has staged hunger strike in Ilam noting that Dr KC’s demands on medical education bill were not appropriate.

Thapa has also initiaited sit-in demanding the parliamentary endorsement of medical education bill without any amendments. (RSS)