Kathmandu, Feb 7: The meeting of the Medical Education Commission, chaired by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, has decided to provide an equal subsistence allowance to residential doctors studying in private medical colleges, equivalent to the government standard (eighth level). Prime Oli is the Chairman of the Commission.
The meeting, held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Singha Durbar, reached the decision based on discussions with stakeholders and the reports, determining that residential doctors should receive a uniform allowance of Rs 48,700 per month. Further discussions on other issues will be held, with decisions to be made in an upcoming meeting of the commission.
Currently, private medical colleges provide a monthly subsistence allowance of Rs 20,000. The postgraduate students have been protesting for equal benefits, and their movement had affected the commission’s examinations, prompting Prime Minister Oli to take the initiative to resolve the issue.
The meeting also discussed the issue of charging a fee of Rs 2.3 million from students unwilling to sign a two-year study and work agreement with the respective colleges.
During the meeting, the President of the Private Medical College Association, Prof Dr Gyanendraman Singh Karki, requested that the decision be made only after formulating the necessary procedures. However, Prime Minister Oli, along with the co-chairpersons—Minister of Health and Population Pradip Paudel and Minister of Education, Science, and Technology Bidya Bhattarai—emphasized that the commitment to providing equal benefits to residential doctors could not be withdrawn.
The commission, responsible for integrated regulation, monitoring, entrance examinations, student seat allocation, and determining tuition fees in medical education, also discussed initiating the necessary amendments to the National Medical Education Act, 2075 BS, during the meeting. #nepal #medical #education
