TU remains defiant despite broad criticism over national med college
Amid widespread criticism over its controversial decision to grant affiliation to the Ghattekulo-based National Medical College, the Tribhuvan University has said it is ready to reconsider the decision if the concerned authority asks it in writing not to implement the Supreme Court’s order on affiliation.
Amid widespread criticism over its controversial decision to grant affiliation to the Ghattekulo-based National Medical College, the Tribhuvan University has said it is ready to reconsider the decision if the concerned authority asks it in writing not to implement the Supreme Court’s order on affiliation.
Defending its move, the TU said in a statement on Thursday that the affiliation was granted as per the apex court order which said there was no reason to deny affiliation to the medical school. The country’s oldest varsity has claimed that the affiliation was given to the medical college to run the MBBS course as per the order of SC’s division bench of then-Chief Justice Damodar Prasad Sharma and Justice Om Prakash Mishra on September 16, 2014. In the final hearing, the SC had argued that there was no reason to deny affiliation if the medical college meets the set criteria.
The experts, however, say the SC had quashed its earlier decision with another ruling on March 2, 2017 that says barring the affiliation was not a case of contempt of court as the government was working seriously in ending anomalies in the medical education sector. Responding to the case filed by the National College owners, the division bench of Justices Ishwor Prasad Khatiwada and Tej Bahadur KC denied issuing verdict on the contempt of court.
Interestingly, the TU secretly granted affiliation to the college four months after the most recent SC ruling.
“The TU has miserably failed in its responsibility,” said Kapil Shrestha, the chair of a panel formed to review implementation of the agreements reached with Dr Govinda KC. TU’s statement is another episode of its immaturity, Shrestha commented, adding that its decision to discreetly grant affiliation shows its ill intention. “If the university administration had granted affiliation under pressure to implement SC’s verdict, it could have at least consulted the experts and brought the issue to light,” he said. The affiliation was granted on the fourth day of Dr KC’s 11th hunger strike on July 27.
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