A day before leaving for Saptari to provide medical treatment to the flood-affected people in Saptari, Dr Govinda KC on Wednesday said he will be forced to begin another round of hunger strike if the government fails to annul the affiliation granted to Kathmandu National Medical College. 

Dr KC, who had been under treatment at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) days after breaking his 11th fast on 23rd day on August 15, was discharged on Wednesday. He plans to leave for Saptari on Thursday morning to help the flood-affected people in Saptari. 

“It is sad the government is turning deaf ear to the criticisms from all quarters on the affiliation granted to Kathmandu National. We have been repeatedly maintaining that the decision of the affiliation should be taken by the Health Profession Education Commission, and that there should be no new medical colleges inside Kathmandu Valley for the next 10 years,” Dr KC said.

Dr KC said the TU office bearers disrespected his repeated protests to bring the much-needed reforms in the country’s medical education sector. 

“We all know that the TU office bearers are party cadres. They serve the interests of their political master and businessmen,” he said.     

The TUTH senior doctor has given an ultimatum of few days to the government to correct the decision of granting affiliation to a medical college inside Kathmandu Valley in view of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s India visit.

Dr KC remarked that the lack of will shown by PM Deuba, who is also the Chancellor of the TU, to take action against Vice Chancellor Tirtha Khania despite enough evidence of corruption in medical education sector demonstrates that the affiliation was granted in collusion with every party involved in the matter.

“The Deuba-led government’s negligence on the issue is enough evidence to prove the collusion,” said Dr KC.

TU Executive Council (EC) on July 27 had surreptitiously  granted affiliation to the medical school while Dr KC’s hunger strike was still underway. 

The Kathmandu Medical College is an extension of Birgunj-based National Medical College, owned by Basruddin Ansari, who was a CPN-UML mayoral candidate for Birgunj Metropolitan City.

The college lacks basic infrastructure to run a medical school, so much so that its teaching hospital based in Ghattekulo, Kathmandu, was found operating illegally without approval from Ministry of Health (MoH).