MEC Decides to Provide Equal Allowance for Private Medical College Doctors
The Medical Education Commission (MEC) has decided to provide an equal subsistence allowance to resident doctors of private medical colleges. The 16th meeting of the Medical Education Commission, chaired by Prime Minister and Chairman KP Sharma Oli, held on Friday, has decided to provide residential doctors studying in private medical colleges with a subsistence allowance (eighth level) equivalent to that of the government.
The decision was made during the commission’s meeting at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Singhadurbar, based on discussions with concerned parties and received reports. It was concluded that resident doctors must be ensured equal facilities (monthly 48 thousand seven hundred rupees). Regarding other issues, it was resolved to hold further discussions and make prompt decisions in the commission’s upcoming meetings.
The meeting also discussed charging a total fee of 23 lakh rupees to students who refuse to comply with the two-year study and work agreement at the respective colleges. Currently, private medical colleges have been providing a monthly subsistence allowance of 20 thousand rupees.
Postgraduate students have been continuing their protests demanding equal facilities, and as the commission’s exams were also being affected, Prime Minister and Chairman Oli took the lead in initiating steps to resolve the problem.
During the meeting, Prof. Dr. Gyanendra Man Singh Karki, Chairman of the Private Medical Colleges Association, urged the commission to make decisions only after finalizing procedures. However, Prime Minister Oli, Co-Chairmen Health and Population Minister Pradeep Paudel, and Education, Science, and Technology Minister Vidya Bhattarai clarified that they could not retreat from their commitment to ensuring equal facilities for resident doctors.
The commission, which has been working on integrated regulation, monitoring, conducting entrance examinations, determining student seat quotas, and setting fees for educational institutions, also discussed initiating the process to amend the National Medical Education Act, 2075, during the meeting.
