INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:

Kathmandu, November 29 Medical students today demanded changes in the agreement reached between medical college owners and the government on

Tuesday. Medical students say the agreement does not specify the deadline to reimburse extra fees the colleges have taken from the students

They say the agreement only talks about reimbursing extra money taken from MBBS and BDS students, but doesn&t mention students of other

medical programmes. &The issue is not only of students studying MBBS and BDS, but is of all the students enrolled in several medical courses

The agreement does not speak anything about nursing and pharmacy, among other medical courses

Therefore, it is necessary to take decisions on extra fees taken from students pursing other medical courses too,& said Milan Gaire,

co-ordinator of the Medical Education Struggle Committee. &The agreement does not talk about the model of returning money,& said Anit Sinha,

general secretary of the Medical Education Struggle Committee. Students have demanded that deadline be given for reimbursement of extra

fees. &The government has not specified any deadline to return the extra fees,& Sinha added. As per the agreement, medical colleges will

have to start reimbursing extra funds raised from students in academic years 2017- 18 and 2018-19, immediately

Students, who were overcharged in academic years 2015-16 and 2016- 17, however, will have to wait for some more time to get their money

back, as the Medical Education Commission will first conduct a study in coordination with universities before formulating a reimbursement

plan. &We are doubtful whether the process will begin at all

Though the agreement has been reached to reimburse fees of the first and second year students, the agreement does not clarify when the third

and fourth year students will get their money back,& said Sinha. &There is no option than to file a fraud case against the medical colleges

and arrest the medical college owners,& said Prabin Gautam MBBS, a fourth year student. Students warned that they would be forced to launch

fresh protests if the government failed to meet their demands. ‘We will be forced to start hospital-based protests and sit for hunger

strike in medical colleges across the country if no changes are made in the agreement immediately,& said Sinha. A Cabinet meeting, last

year, capped MBBS fees at Rs 3.85 million in Kathmandu valley and Rs 4.24 million outside the valley

Students, however, complained that colleges had collected Rs 1.2 to Rs 1.5 million extra from them

MBBS fees for this year have been set at Rs 4.02 million for the valley and Rs 4.44 million for outside the valley. Medical colleges reached

an agreement with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology on Tuesday night after the government warned it would round up their

promoters if they failed to reimburse the extra sum collected from medical students. The students have been protesting since long as the

medical colleges overcharged them. The post Medical students demand changes in agreement appeared first on The Himalayan Times.