Miscellaneous
Maoist lawmakers oppose house panel's decision
Agni Prasad Sapkota, chief of Education Department of UCPN (M), has said that his party will launch protest if the parliamentary panel does not revoke its directives to allow affiliation.Ekantipur Report
Sapkota, who is also the member in the committee, said on Wednesday that the decision was taken in his absence, at the behest of the lawmakers advocating for the new medical colleges.
The parliamentary committee on Sunday had directed the Ministry of Education (MoE) to grant affiliation to new medical and engineering colleges that have acquired the Letter of Intent (LoI) for operatation. The committee, in its five-point directive, has claimed that it is essential to establish new medical and engineering colleges to control capital flight caused by students who go abroad to earn medical and engineering degrees. It has also said that new colleges are necessary to develop technical expertise in the country.
However, Sapkota has demanded that the decision taken without any discussion in the parliamentary committee should be revoked immediately.
The parliamentary committee is led by CPN-UML lawmaker Ranju Kumari Jha. Another UML lawmaker Ganesh Man Gurung is the coordinator of Education Sub-Committee. The Maoist lawmakers, including Sapkota, have claimed that the directive resulted from pressure from UML lawmakers, including Rajendra Pandey and Dr Bansidhar Mishra who have investments in Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences.
Sapkota has said that there should be a medical education policy before taking any decision regarding affiliation, Sapkota said.
Thirteen medical colleges have received LoI from the MoE; five of these colleges, including Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, have already set up their infrastructure.