IMMORAL ACTS

The Kathmandu Post

2 February 2018

IMMORAL ACTS

Private medical colleges have again started flexing their muscles by asking students who have enrolled in MBBS programme to pay additional fees. It was thought that the monopoly of private medical colleges in extorting money from the students under the various covers would end when the current and the previous governments signed agreements with Dr. Govind KC, who has staged multiple hunger strike demanding reforms in medical education, to set the fee in line with the recommendations made by the Kedar Bhakta Mathema led high level commission.

The government has set the fees at Rs.3.8 million for the medical colleges inside the Kathmandu Valley and Rs. 4.2 million for the colleges outside the Valley. However, violating this fee structure, private medical colleges affiliated to the Institute of Medicine (IoM) under the Tribhuvan University have demanded an additional Rs. 1 million from the students  (“Pvt med colleges demand extra Rs.1 million from MBBS students” Janaury 31, Page 2). Some of the students have been even asked by the college administration to keep mum on this issue threatening them that their practical marks will be affected. Of the seven private medical colleges affiliated to the TU, one is in the Capital while the other six are outside the Valley.

The students pursuing an MBBS degree in different private medical colleges staged a protest rally on Monday against the exorbitant fees. Is not it illegal to charge additional money against the government-set fees? Does not it show that the private medical colleges do not want to comply with the government’s rules? Does this indicate that there are no concerned authorities (government or otherwise) in place to monitor these illegal activities and to punish the culprits? What is the TU central office doing to stop these illegal activities of the private medical colleges? The time has come for the government to swiftly act on this issue and force the medical colleges to abide by set rules before Dr. KC launches another hunger strike.

Rai Biren Bangdel

Maharajgunj

http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/printedition/news/2018-02-02/serious-threat.html