Worried about their future, the students have been staging a protest demanding resumption of their classes. They padlocked the dean’s office at the Institute of Medicine (IoM) on Wednesday; the lock was later broken by police. The agitating students, who had paid the JMC up to Rs 4.5 million for five-and-half years course, claim they have been deceived, and the concerned authorities have done little to resolve the problem.

“Time and again, we have been forced to stage protest but none of the government authorities, including the the National Medical Council (NMC), the Institutet of Medicine and the Ministry of Education, have taken our concern seriously,” said Raju, one of the students who did not wish to reveal his true idenitity.

This is not the first time the college has suspended the classes. When the classes were closed in 2013, a group of students had come to Kathmandu to draw the attention of the concerned authority. The college management resumed the classes after the NMC and the IoM intervened.

Two months later, the classes were once again put on hold, riling the students. Once again, the government authorities had to intervene to resume the classes. “We have barely learnt anything in the last two years,” said Raju.

The JMC is considered one of the worst medical schools in the country that has repeatedly failed to comply with basic standards set by the NMC. Investigations carried out by the NMC and the IoM a year back had found that the JMC did not have the required number of professors and teachers. The college management was also found hiring fake standing faculties and patients for its hospital, which lacked adequate facilities.  Even the attendance sheet was found to be fraudulent.

In September, 2014, the IoM faculty board had decided to bar the college from admitting students, citing that the college lacked infrastructure and faculties to enrol more students. Following the decision, new troubles began after rumours of the JMC closure started making rounds, as the college had stopped all its classes. The classes have not resumed still.

Sources said that the members of the Ram Janaki Health Foundation which operates JMC are embroiled in a dispute concerning shares, and that row has put the future of the college and its students in uncertainty. The sources reported that OP Pandey, chairman of the foundation, has been deceiving other members, claiming to have sold the college shares.

Dr Rakesh Shriwastav, dean of IoM, said the major issue is reimbursing the money of the JMC students.  “We are negotiating with other medical colleges to ensure that students of JMC are adjusted,” said Dr Shriwastav. “Unless JMC overhauls its management, it will not be allowed to run any academic classes.”