MBBS students at Gandaki Medical College in Pokhara opened the locks of their classes, Hospital OPD and the office of medical superintendent on Saturday, keeping in view the upcoming examinations.

Forty-five days ago, the students had padlocked their classes, hospital OPD and office of the superintendent, citing that the institute charged them Rs 1.3 million more than the government fixed fee amount. They were protesting for over one and a half months against the steep fee.

The students said they are not going to halt services at the hospital and obstruct classes. Issuing a notice on Saturday, they requested the authorities to form a new management committee to operate the hospital and medical college after a forgery case was filed against 11 staff, including the College Chairman, at the District Police Office in Kaski on March 3.

The students had also gone to Kathmandu to put pressure on the concerned authorities to address their concerns. Police have already arrested former Chief Executive Officer of the medical college Santosh Khanal and Exam Controller Laxman Sharma following a fraud case filed by the MBBS students. Other staff of the medical college including College Chairman Khuma Aryal are still on the run.

According to the students, the college had collected around Rs455 million by overcharging the students from 2015 to 2018. The government has set the fee ceiling of Rs3.8 million for medical colleges in the Kathmandu Valley and Rs4.24 million outside the Valley.