Nepal

Kathmandu, July 15

A government sub-committee, which was formed to study the possibility for revising the fee structure of medical education in the country, has recommended new fee structures for MBBS and BDS programmes.

The committee has recommended new fee structures for medical colleges. Quality of education, allocated seats, infrastructure, condition of hospital, nature of educational institution, geographical variation, inflation and investment, among other variants, should be taken into consideration for adjusting the fee structure, according to the committee.

The committee that has National Planning Commission member Usha Jha and University Grant CommissionChairman Bhim Prasad Subedi as members has recommended continuous monitoring of medical institutions. It has suggested ensuring transparency in fee structures of medical colleges.

&We have not recommended fee structure in exact figure, but the fee structure must be revised. Medical education fee in Kathmandu valley and outside the valley can&t be the same,& said Jha.

The sub-committee has also recommended allocation of seats depending upon the infrastructure of the college, faculties, quality of education and condition of hospital.

As per the government set fee structure, medical colleges in the Kathmandu valley cannot charge more than Rs 38.5 lakh from students, while fee structure for colleges outside the Valley is Rs 42.45 lakh for MBBS. The fee structure for bachelorin dental surgery is Rs 19.32 lakh.

&The fee structure should be adjusted, but the government shouldn&t take any decision that gives huge profit to medical colleges. I hope the committee has done all the necessary research. Inflation, price of chemicals, salaries of staff and expenditure of the medical colleges should be studied in detail if the fee structure has to be increased. The fee structures should not be increased upon the pressure of private medical colleges. It should not hit the guardians,& said Kedar Bhakta Mathema, an education expert.

As per the National Medical Education Act, Medical Education Commission is the authentic body for fixing fees for medical colleges, granting or revoking affiliation to medical colleges across the country and regulating the entire medical education sector.

Considering the investment and cost of university, academy or educational institute, inflation, geographical location, scholarship and free medical services, the commission will determine the fee structure in consultation with universities, academies and medical institutions.

&Vice-chairman of Medical Education Commission hasn&t been appointed yet. The commission will take decision on revising the fee structure for medical education on the bases of demand, law and guidelines,& said Chandra Kanta Bhusal, member secretary of Medical Education Commission.

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Kathmandu, July 14

Rani Pokhari in the heart of the capital city has retained water after more than three years, following incessant rain for the past few days.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City had drained the water out of the pond using motor pumps in January 2016, as part of its ambitious plan to develop it as a recreation site for generating high revenues. KMCdecision to turn the historic site into a modern facility had drawn flak from locals and conservation activists, forcing it to drop the plan.

Traditional method was chosen to reconstruct the pond. The Department of Archaeology, National Reconstruction Authority and the KMC have hired a group of 60 traditional workers from neighbouring Bhaktapur city to reconstruct the pond in traditional style.

The workers have been filling the bottom of the pond with layers of black soil and sand, a method that was used to build ponds in Kathmandu valley in the ancient period.

Krishna Prasad Dumaru head of the reconstruction team said, &We have used black soil and sand for the reconstruction of several ancient ponds which has been a success. The workers are filling the pond bed with layers of black soil and sand. They are working to restore the damaged embankment of the pond with traditional bricks,& he said, adding reconstruction work of the pond will be completed in a few months.

The workers had built a miniature pond inside Rani Pokhari as a sample to convenience the authority of their method, one and a-half-month ago and no sign of water leakage was noticed in it.

&Since the sample pond worked perfect we are confident that Rani Pokhari will retain water,& said Damaru.

The DoA has expressed confidence that the reconstruction work of Rani Pokhari including a temple in its centre will be completed by October, this year.

The temple in Rani Pokhari was opened once a year on the occasion of Bhai tika during the Tihar festival in the month of October, before the 2015 earthquake.

Damodar Gautam Director General of DoA said, &We are confident that all the structures in Rani Pokhari will be complete by Tihar.&

He also said contract had already been awarded for a private constructor to build the temple.

&The temple will be built in traditional granthakut style of Malla era as demanded by the locals,& said Gautam.

The temple was built by King Pratap Malla in granthakut design in 1670. The original temple was later destroyed in the earthquake of 1934. After the earthquake the temple was later reconstructed following gumbaz model by Rana rulers.

After 2015 earthquake locals of Kathmandu had demanded that the government rebuild the temple in granthkut style as was originally built by Pratap Malla.

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Kathmandu, July 15

The 2019 Everest International Model United Nations conference kicked off in the capital today.

US Ambassador to Nepal Randy Berry, UN Resident Coordinator Valerie Julliand, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Bharat Raj Paudyal jointly launched the event.

In partnership with the Grantee Youth Thinkers& Society, the US embassy welcomed 200 delegates from 20 countries across the Indo-Pacific region to discuss issues from building infrastructure for accessible and affordable food to developing cyber security and data protection mechanisms, according to a press release issued by the embassy.

Addressing the delegates, Ambassador Berry said, &The United States believes every nation has the responsibility of adhering to international norms and respecting the sovereign choices of all countries and to be free of coercion. In Asia, it is this idea that defines the United States& approach across the Indo-Pacific region.&

He also encouraged students to apply the skills and knowledge acquired here in their onward studies and future careers.

Noting that the youths had the power to create change, UN Resident Coordinator Julliand added, &Model UN is an excellent opportunity for young people to become involved in tackling local and global issues, such as achieving Sustainable Development Goals and combating climate change.&

Over the week, students will simulate committee sessions for the United Nations Security Council, UN Women, the United Nations Human Rights Council, the World Food Programme, and the International Monetary Fund.

Delegates will also attend UN expert speaker and career development panels, as well as networking sessions celebrating the diverse cultural backgrounds of all participants.

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Kathmandu, July 14

Nepal Medical Association has expressed sorrow over the loss of lives and property in incidents of natural disasters across the country.

Issuing a press release on today the umbrella organisation of medical and dental doctors has demanded the government to intensify search and rescue operation of the disaster victims without delay.

NMA has asked its members across the country to be involved in the rescue operation of landslide and flood victims and to provide treatment and medical facilities to them.

In its release, Nepal Medical Association has directed its members across the country to make necessary arrangements in the disaster hit areas to prevent outbreak of epidemics.

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