National
Medical Education Bill: Panel yet to agree on key points
The plan to finalise the proposed Medical Education Bill, as demanded by Dr Govinda KC, before the commencement of the winter session of the House has failed to materialise as the sub-committee of the Education and Health Committee of Parliament has yet to agree on some of the crucial provisions mentioned in the draft bill.Binod Ghimire
The plan to finalise the proposed Medical Education Bill, as demanded by Dr Govinda KC, before the commencement of the winter session of the House has failed to materialise as the sub-committee of the Education and Health Committee of Parliament has yet to agree on some of the crucial provisions mentioned in the draft bill. The winter session of the federal parliament resumes on Wednesday.
The sub-committee, which includes Khag Raj Adhikari and Gagan Thapa and Yogesh Bhattarai, also had plans to hold a consultation with Dr KC before finalising the bill. However, with just a day remaining for the resumption of Parliament, it is highly unlikely the sub-committee will be able to consult Dr KC and finalise the document.
Earlier, the Education and Health Committee had said that the bill would be tabled in Parliament soon after the winter session has commenced.
The sub-committee members have still not agreed on the provisions of imposing a 10-year moratorium on new medical colleges in Kathmandu Valley, barring one university from granting more than five medical college affiliations and bringing the Council for the Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) under
the jurisdiction of the proposed commission on medical education.
Education Minister Giriraj Mani Pokharel who has submitted an opposing view concerning the provision of bringing CTEVT under the scope of the proposed commission.
According to Minister Pokharel, there is no logic in bringing the CTEVT, which offers diploma and intermediate courses, under the jurisdiction of the commission envisioned to deal with the higher studies in medical education.
Formation of the commission with an authority to recommend affiliations and monitor medical colleges is one of the crucial demands of Dr KC.
On the stipulation that one university can not grant affiliations to more than five medical colleges, some lawmakers have argued that the provision would create confusion since the Tribhuvan University and the Kathmandu University have already crossed the affiliation limit. They have also claimed that the provision will also block the way the establishment of new medical colleges outside the Valley.
Jaypuri Gharti, chairperson of the Education and Health Committee, said the sub-committee will consult with Dr KC to find a way out.
“Though we failed to finalise the bill before the commencement of the federal parliament, it shouldn’t take long to get the job done,” she told the Post.
The bill was introduced in Parliament in the last week of July following the pressure from Dr KC, who had staged several rounds of hunger strikes to exert pressure on the government to reform the country’s medical education sector.