The Health Profession Education Commission (HPEC) on Thursday submitted the final draft of an act to regulate medical education to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

One of the major provisions in the draft of an act—aimed at improving the quality of medical education in the country—is the 10-year moratorium on opening new medical, dental and nursing colleges inside Kathmandu Valley.

The PM had immediately asked Education Minister Giriraj Mani Pokhrel to take necessary measures to endorse the act as “there is no reason to make any delays,” said HPEC Vice-chairman Dr Bhagwan Koirala.

Each medical college should have a hospital that has been running for at least three years before they can apply for affiliation. The document, however, remains silent on fee and medical seats.

“It is not practical to include the issues in the act. But we will regulate it after the act is endorsed,” said Dr Koirala.

The HPEC will be guided by five directorates—Accreditation and Standard; Planning and Coordination; Innovation and Research; Examination and Post Graduate Education Board. They will be headed by directors appointed by the commission’s vice-chair. Among them, the examination directorate will conduct a National Common Entrance Examination for students willing to pursue graduate and postgraduate medical education. “This will help us maintain academic calendar and consistency in education,” said Dr Koirala. Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu University, Patan Academy of Health Sciences and BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences have been conducting separate entrance tests for MBBS and BDS (dentistry) programmes.

In case of the foreign students, all of them should either take the Common entrance examination or pass the HPEC-recognised examination in their countries before they are considered for admission in medical colleges in Nepal.

The commission has Dr Arjun Karki, former vice chancellor of Patan Academy of Health Sciences; Dr Jagdish Agrawal, medical educationist; Dr Shree Krishna Giri, former rector of National Academy of Medical Sciences; Dr Srijana Shrestha, dean of PAHS and Dr Suresh Kumar Kanodiya, a representative from private medical colleges, as its members.