The Medical Education Commission has formulated a new regulation under which colleges and institutes that fail to secure at least 70 percent marks in their evaluation for two consecutive years could have their licenses revoked.

The commission, which has finalised 1o compliance indicators for medical colleges and nuristing institutions, plans to evaluate colleges based on their quality of their infrastructure, service, equipment, and teaching staff.

“If they fail to secure the minimum of 70 percent for two consecutive years, the commission can recommend the university concerned to scrap their licence,” Dr Shree Krishna Giri, vice-chairman of the commission, told the Post. The new regulations come as various reports said medical colleges in Nepal lack infrastructure and quality teaching staff. Some colleges reportedly hired temporary faculties, mostly from India, to show the inspectors when they come for checks.

As per the draft regulation, being rolled out amid concerns over quality of medical and nursing education in the country, research conducted by colleges, the quality of their hostels and their performance in terms of fulfilling social responsibility will also be evaluated.

When the new regulation is implemented, all medical colleges will evaluate themselves on the criteria set by the commission. The evaluations will then be verified by a team of experts, appointed by the commission. Colleges that receive less than 70 percent marks will get one year to improve themselves. Based on the score each college receives, the commission plans to place them in three categories. While institutions that score more than 90 percent will be categorised as ‘A’, those scoring between 80 to 90 percent will fall under the ‘B’ category and those that get between 70 to 80 get the ‘C’ label. Colleges that score below 70 shall fail the evaluation.

The commission, which was formed following hunger strikes by reform activist Dr Govinda KC, has already approved the draft regulation and forwarded it to the Cabinet.

There are 17 medical colleges affiliated with Kathmandu University and Tribhuvan University. Similarly, there are over a hundred nursing colleges offering various levels of education ranging from ‘certificate’ to masters. They are affiliated with the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) and various universities.