The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has announced to start process for canceling registration of the medical colleges that doesn’t comply with the government directive to enroll Post Graduate medical students only on merit basis.

A meeting at PMO led by Chief Secretary Som Lal Subedi on Thursday directed all the medical colleges to enroll students on merit basis within seven days. In a press statement issued after the meeting, the PMO has asked the concerned authorities to make arrangement for admission of merit list students as per the Cabinet decision of September 18, 2015 and the Supreme Court decision of December 1, 2015 and July 5 last year. 

The Cabinet and the apex court had directed the medical colleges to follow the merit list during admission and asked Tribhuvan University to monitor the compliance.

“The process towards cancelation of registration of the colleges will be initiated if the decision is not addressed within seven days,” reads the statement.

On June 28, the Supreme Court had ordered the medical colleges to admit students in postgraduate programmes on merit basis. Following the apex court order, the Nepal Medical Association (NMA) had urged private medical colleges to admit students based on merit. 

Bhairahawa based Universal Medical College and National Medical College-Birgunj had denied granting admission on the merit basis.

In the wake criticisms from several quarters, owners and promotors of medical colleges have been lobbying to find a way to increase students' quotas in post-graduate courses to accommodate both applicants on the merit list and those ready to pay hefty