Valley
Civil society members urge Dr Govinda KC not to protest
As Dr Govinda KC, an orthopaedic surgeon and activist, gears up for another round of hunger strike beginning on Monday, civil society members have requested him to withdraw his protest.As Dr Govinda KC, an orthopaedic surgeon and activist, gears up for another round of hunger strike beginning on Monday, civil society members have requested him to withdraw his protest.
Dr KC had warned that he would go on fast-unto-death from July 24 unless the government scrapped the operating licence of the medical colleges that deny admissions to meritorious students.
Civil society members, including former TU vice-chancellor Kedar Bhakta Mathema, advocates Om Prakash Aryal, Surendra Bhandari and Baburam Giri, requested Dr KC to withdraw his protest.
During a meeting on Saturday, Mathema had assured Dr KC that they would take up his demands to the prime minister and other concerned stakeholders for their resolution. The other members also tried to convince him, saying that many positive changes had been witnessed and protest for reforms could be done through other means apart from the fast-unto-death.
Dr KC’s primary demand is a mandatory enrolment of meritorious students in private medical colleges that had been enrolling students with low marks, charging extortionately high fees.
The Supreme Court on Thursday denied an interim order on a petition lodged by ‘non-meritorious’ students, seeking a legal recognition to their admission in MD/MS programmes. The apex court’s move paved the way for the merit-based students to get enrolled in Bhairahawa-based Universal College of Medical Sciences and Birgunj-based National Medical College.
“I have not got any response from the concerned authorities. I will wait until Monday afternoon before beginning my fast at 4pm,” said Dr KC, who has already staged hunger strike 10 times. He has also demanded that the government immediately endorse the Health Profession Education Bill (HPEC); appointment of the associate dean and the campus chief on the recommendations of the dean; giving authority to the IoM to enrol students, set fees and grant affiliation; de-affiliation of medical colleges that defy directives of the government and the court.