Failure on the part of the Executive Council of Tribhuvan University (TU) to set fees for post-graduate (PG) courses is likely to affect the academic calendar of the Institute of Medicine (IoM).

The IoM is yet to counsel students who are set to be assigned to different medical colleges affiliated to the TU due to delay in fixing the fees for post-graduate courses. 

The IoM says students will be forced to pay exorbitant amounts to medical colleges if they are assigned there without fixing the fees. On top of that, this could give the medical colleges the leeway to snub the merit-based admission process. “We cannot run counselling sessions unless the concerned authorities determine the fees,” said IoM Dean Dr Jagdish Agrawal. “The delay will hit our academic calendar.”

As per the IoM’s calendar, the PG (MD/MS) academic session should start in July. While there has been delay in fixing the fess by the TU Executive Council, there are other bureaucratic hassles as well, which have left IoM officials worried. 

The Ministry of Education (MoE) had earlier instructed the TU to set fees for the MD/MS courses to avoid arbitrary admission process. The MoE wrote to the TU following a ministerial decision that admission for post-graduate courses should be transparent and based on merit. 

A single bench of Justice Anil Kumar Sinha recently issued an interim order, ordering the authorities concerned to follow merit and open counselling while enrolling students. Advocate Devendra Ghimire had moved the apex court demanding that enrolment in medical colleges under the TU must be based on merit and that fee structure should be uniform and transparent. 

The Kathmandu University has implemented a uniform fee structure of Rs2.3 million for the post-graduate courses for its affiliated medical colleges. However, medical colleges affiliated to the TU have been charging as high as Rs7 million and Rs10 million for orthopaedics and radiology course respectively. 

A committee led by Kedar Bhakta Mathema, former vice-chancellor of the TU, that drafted the Health Profession Education Policy has suggested that the government make the MD/MS programmes free in government and private medical schools. For students who do not want to comply with the certain rules and bonds after completing their post-graduate courses under the free programme, a provision has been proposed as per which they can pay a maximum of Rs4 million. The provision has it that they can pay the amount in instalment.