KATHMANDU, April 16: A meeting of the Medical Education Commission (MEC) chaired by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has formed an 11-member task force to review the number of MBBS and BDS seats, and the fee structure in private medical colleges.
The task force, coordinated by Dr Deepak Kafle, secretary at the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, has been given a 10-days ultimatum to submit its suggestions and recommendations.
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Members of the task force include Dr Bikas Devkota, Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Population; Dr Mohan Sharma, Dean of the Institute of Medicine at Tribhuvan University; Dr Manoj Humagain, Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Kathmandu University. It also includes medical experts Dr Bhagwan Koirala, Dr Ramesh Kant Adhikari, Dr Divya Singh Shah, and Dr Mangal Rawal. Similarly, the others included are Dr Anil Karki, president of Nepal Medical College (NMA), and Dr Gyanendra Karki, president of the Association of Private Medical and Dental Colleges.
PM Oli called the meeting of the MEC in response to concerns raised by the Association of Private Medical and Dental Colleges regarding the difficulty in providing residential doctors with allowances equivalent to those given in government institutions. Additionally, students had warned that they would resume protests if these allowances were not provided, prompting the PM to convene the meeting.
Earlier, on February 7, 2025, the 16th meeting of the MEC had decided that private medical colleges must provide residential doctors with a monthly living allowance of Rs 48, 500 equivalent to the government’s eighth level pay scale in response to the demands raised during their protest.
As the review process for increasing seat numbers and fees begins, private medical colleges will be required to provide the living allowance as determined by the MEC, and the student matching process will commence. The next meeting of the MEC is scheduled for April 28.
