The Cabinet on Monday endorsed the Heath Profession Education (HPE) ordinance to address the demands of Dr Govinda KC.

A Cabinet meeting on Monday endorsed the ordinance and decided to send it to President Bidya Devi Bhandari for authentication. The ordinance will be enforced as HPE Act once it gets published in Nepal Gazette.

The bill retains all the major provisions as demanded by Dr Govinda KC. The bill bars opening of new medical colleges inside Kathmandu Valley for the next 10 years. Similarly, a hospital has to run for at least three years to be eligible to apply for a medical college affiliation.

The bill also tightens the grip on universities that are eligible to grant affiliation. A university must have its own medical college and full-fledged hospital before being considered for affiliation to open a new medical school.

Similarly, a single university can grant affiliation to only five medical colleges that should be based within its own province. Also, affiliation will not be granted to more than one medical college in a single district.