Nepali medical students studying in various universities in Bangladesh have asked the Nepal government to provide internship placements in Nepal.

Hundreds of students who have passed their MBBS examinations are currently undertaking mandatory internships at hospitals of various medical colleges before graduating. A year of internship is a must to qualify as a medical doctor.

Due to the ongoing protests in Bangladesh, most Nepali medical students, including those who were doing their internships, have returned home. An estimated 3,500 Nepali students, most of whom are pursuing medical degrees, are enrolled in different Bangladeshi universities. Of them, 400 students are still in Bangladesh, as per a statement from Nepal’s embassy in Dhaka.

Both the students who have returned home and those still in Bangladesh say it is uncertain when they can resume their internship. They have asked the Nepali authorities to facilitate the completion of their internships in Nepali hospitals. “The situation is still tense here. I am having to stay here risking my life with eight more months left in my internship,” a Nepali student from Enam Medical College, Dhaka, told the Post over the phone. “I would have left had the Nepal government made arrangements for an internship back home.” He claimed that police and gang members, posing as student unions, were randomly shooting people.

A group of medical students enrolled in Bangladesh-based universities have been lobbying the Nepali authorities to clear the existing legal hurdles for internships in Nepali hospitals. On Tuesday, they submitted their demand papers to Bidya Bhattarai, Minister for Education, Science and Technology, and Pradip Paudel, Minister for Health and Population.

United under the Nepali Medical Students’ Association, the students submitted a similar demand paper to the chairperson of the Medical Education Commission.

“Both ministers have said they are positive about our concerns. They have assured us of tripartite coordination between the two ministers and the commission to find a way out,” said Navin Yadav, chairperson of the association, who is also interning at Popular Medical College in Dhaka. Students from 13 medical colleges in Bangladesh are demanding to be allowed to intern in hospitals in Nepal.

Yadav said it has already been a month since the protest started and a date for return to normalcy is hard to predict. The situation is expected to gradually ease following the resignation and departure of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday and the ongoing efforts to set up an interim government.

“We were compelled to return as it was unsafe to stay there. Nobody wants to go back in these circumstances,” he said. “I am sure the government understands the gravity of the matter and takes necessary steps to address it.”

The students claim that most countries, including neighbouring India, allow internships within their borders for students studying at foreign universities. Nepal allowed such internships until 2010, but later stopped. The Medical Education Act requires students to complete their studies, including the internship, in the country where they are enrolled.

According to the students, medical practice and treatment protocols are different between Bangladesh and Nepal. They claim that completing an internship in their homeland would provide them more scope and experience in dealing with diseases and treatments specific to Nepal. It would also familiarise them with the local drug brands they would use when practising medicine in Nepal, they said.

The education consultancy operators, who facilitate the enrollment of Nepali students in Bangladesh, however, say they don’t see the possibility of the students securing internships in Nepal anytime soon. “The situation in Bangladesh is expected to improve now. I expect our students to return to their medical colleges very soon and complete the studies including internship,” Arun Chaudhary, manager of the Jyoti Deep Education Consultancy, told the Post.

He, however, agreed that the situation hasn’t returned to normal and students, who are still there, want to return home.