Valley
Dr KC to protest against anti-graft body chief Karki
Demanding impeachment of Lokman Singh Karki, chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, senior orthopaedic surgeon Dr Govinda KC has warned of an indefinite hunger strike from July 10.Demanding impeachment of Lokman Singh Karki, chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, senior orthopaedic surgeon Dr Govinda KC has warned of an indefinite hunger strike from July 10.
Putting forth four demands, Dr KC said Karki had crossed his jurisdiction to conduct an entrance examination at the Kathmandu University “to fulfil the vested interest of some powerful people”. This, Dr KC said, has been a major impediment to reform in medical education.
“We have been fighting for reforms [in medical education] for many years. And this fight will continue,” said Dr KC. Since July 2012, Dr KC has launched seven hunger strikes.
The CIAA recently took over the entrance examination of the KU School of Medicine held on May 28 suspecting question leak. They had brought along experts, two days prior to the test, who picked the questions and conducted the exam.
The senior doctor at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital has demanded immediate endorsement of the Health Profession Education Policy draft from the Legislature-Parliament. However, he has sought several amendments to the draft that include free seats at government medical colleges and establishment of at least one medical college in each province.
Dr KC also asks the government to withdraw the Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences Bill that goes against the spirit of the report of the Mathema Commission suggesting reforms such as 10-year moratorium on opening new medical schools in Kathmandu Valley. Despite the recommendation, the former government led by the late Sushil Koirala forwarded the bill for establishing Manmohan Institute as an academy to run MBBS classes.
“As in my previous fasts, I have again asked the government to appoint deans based on seniority and implement the seat and fee structure,” said Dr KC. Following his protest, the government has decided to charge Rs3.5 million for the MBBS course and gradually limit medical student quotas to 100.
The decision is yet to be implemented as private colleges argue that low fees will eventually lead to their collapse. Thanks to Dr KC’s hunger strike, a debate on the quality of medical schools followed. The government was also forced to form a committee, led by former TU Vice-chancellor Kedar Bhakta Mathema, which came up with the Health Profession Education Policy proposing an overarching Health Profession Education Commission.
The government recently appointed Dr Bhagwan Koirala, a senior heart surgeon, as its vice-chairperson. His team drafted an Act to regulate the body. More than a month since the report was submitted, it is yet to be endorsed.
CIAA condemns Dr KC’s move
KATHMANDU: The CIAA has condemned Dr Govinda KC’s demand seeking impeachment motion against its chief Lokman Singh Karki, among other commissioners.
In a strongly-worded statement issued on Sunday following Dr KC’s announcement to sit for an eighth round of indefinite hunger strike to put pressure on the government to abide by the past agreements, the anti-graft body said that his demands are the result of his “narrow minded, chaotic and unhealthy mentality”.
The CIAA challenged Dr KC to present facts on the accusations levelled against the anti-corruption body over its move of conducting the entrance examination of Kathmandu University School of Medicine after suspecting a question leak. “After receiving numerous complaints from stakeholders, the CIAA directed Medical Council to conduct fair investigation into the examination,” the statement said. Claiming that Dr KC’s repeated hunger strikes, in the veil of uplifting the medical sector, has instead destabilised the sector, the CIAA has urged public not to be misled by Dr KC’s baseless accusations against the body.