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
