Professor Dr Govinda KC has issued yet another ultimatum to the government as part of his struggle for reforms in the medical education sector. 

Dr KC put forth his demands by organizing a press conference in the Capital on Monday, threatening to launch a hunger strike from August 14 if the government fails to meet his demands.

He demanded the withdrawal of CTEVT’s ‘illegal move’ regarding seat allocation and student admission in nursing, pharmacy and health assistant studies, dismissal of officials behind the move, formation of a recommendation committee for the appointment of the vice-chair of the Medical Education Commission within a week and completion of the selection process before the expiry of the current Vice-chair Dr Shree Krishna Giri’s term (in August). 

Dr KC also demanded that the CTEVT’s decision to hike tuition fees for health assistant, pharmacy and nursing studies be revoked along with the vested interests’ bid to interfere in the CTEVT’s seat allocation and selection process. On its part, CTEVT has put its fee hike move on hold in the wake of protests.

He took the occasion to reiterate his demands, including the establishment and operation of government medical colleges or institutes in all provinces, enactment of a law outlining criteria for appointment of Integrated Health (Science) Education and Academy officials, arrangements for the transformation of medical education into a not-for-profit sector, legal arrangements to prevent conflicts of interest in medical education institutes, appointment of permanent medical staff in government hospitals on the basis of number of available beds and a strict implementation of legal provisions on free medication and treatment from government health institutions.

He has also asked the government to implement agreements reached with him on Sept 24, 2022. 

“While our repeated protests led to various reforms, the government has yet to implement many important agreements. At this point, efforts are on to reverse the reform process in the interest of medical mafia,” Dr KC said.

He maintained that organized efforts were underway to destroy the Medical Education Commission, the regulatory body of medical education, by removing provisions of the Medical Education Act.

Attempts to reverse the achievements of the decade-long struggle for reforms in medical education are reproachable, Dr KC said: Our repeated calls to the government to do a course correction have gone unheard. Instead of starting the process for new appointments at the Medical Education Commission, the government is trying to throw a spanner in the commission’s works by making it leaderless. 

The Minister for Education is protecting party workers instead of stopping them from interfering in seat allocation and admission process in CTEVT affiliates,  Dr KC said, adding: This has given rise to suspicion that the minister may have been working in the interest of the medical mafia.