Three amendment proposals have been registered on the Medical Education Bill in the National Assembly demanding that the agreement signed with Dr Govinda KC be implemented.
Brishesh Chandra Lal of Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJP), Radheshyam Adhikari of Nepali Congress (NC) have registered individual amendment proposals, and Sarita Prasai, Prakash Panta and Badri Prasad Pandey of NC have registered a joint amendment proposal on the bill that was passed on Friday by the House of Representatives (HoR) despite protest by lawmakers of the main opposition party NC.
The lawmakers were invited to register amendment proposals until 12:30 Thursday afternoon.
They have demanded that the preamble of the bill should mention that it has come in accordance to the past hunger strikes of Dr KC.
The government is preparing to pass the bill Thursday itself ignoring Dr KC who is into the 23rd day of his 16th fast-unto death demanding that the agreement the government signed with him before ending his 15th on July 26, 2018 be implemented to the letter.
Bills are generally sent to the committees for clause-wise discussion but this bill is going to be passed by holding discussion in the full meeting without being sent to legislation management committee.
The schedule for Thursday mentions that Minister for Education, Science and Technology Giriraj Mani Pokharel will present the bill for decision on Thursday during the meeting that will start at two in the afternoon.
The House committee holds discussion with those who register amendment proposals if any bill is sent to the committee, but the lawmakers who register amendment proposals will present their opinion in the full meeting itself as it will be moved forward through the full meeting.
The amendment proposals will be presented for decision. There is little chance of the bill being amended as the ruling CPN has clear majority even in the National Assembly.
A CPN lawmaker said the bill will be passed by the National Assembly by Thursday evening. "President will authenticate the bill immediately after it is passed," the lawmaker revealed.
The Medical Education Bill, passed by the HoR, mainly violated three agreements signed with Dr KC.
The provision prohibiting a university from giving affiliation to more than five medical colleges has been weakened in the bill adding that those outside the Kathmandu Valley that have acquired letter of intent (LOI) can be given affiliation by the Tribhuvan University and the Kathmandu University.
B&C Hospital in Birtamode, Jhapa has acquired LOI from the Kathmandu University, that has already provided affiliation to at least five medical colleges, to operate a medical college.
The bill passed by the HoR on Friday will pave the way for immediate affiliation to B&C. The agreement mentioned medical colleges to be opened outside Kathmandu Valley will have to comply with the policies to be formulated by the Medical Education Commission meaning B&C would have to wait for formation of the commission, and formulation of policies by the commission to get affiliation.
The second is formation of the all-powerful commission for regulation of medical education and to formulate policies about the sector. Dr KC suspects that the bill passed on Wednesday mentioned Medical Education University to undermine the commission.
The third is the issue of Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) that the government had agreed to phase out within five years as the Health Ministry has already announced it will not recruit human resources with qualification of just certificate level. But the bill passed Wednesday states that the CTEVT will continue until the government so wishes.
