Kathmandu. The resident doctors have felt cheated after the moneylenders of the medical colleges refused to implement the agreement between the government and the private sector medical college operators.
Although the government has directed to ensure minimum monthly salary to the resident doctors, the private sector teaching hospital operators have not agreed. They have put a condition that they will not learn to pay the allowance until the number of seats for admission of students is increased.
Although the government has directed the medical college operators to provide subsistence allowance equal to the eighth level, it has not included the issue of determining the salary in a way that is equal to the eighth level for determining the salary.
Despite repeated talks with the Ministry of Education, The Ministry of Health and the Medical Education Commission regarding the demand for increasing the subsistence allowance, no conclusion has been reached. Resident doctors are preparing to intensify the agitation if their demands are not met. Talks were held between the agitating doctors, including the minister, at the Ministry of Health on Friday, but no agreement could be reached.
They alleged that the colleges were exploiting labour even though the resident doctors were engaged in treatment like full-time doctors. Students are angry that the number of MBBS and BDS seats and fees are being increased as per the conditions of private medical colleges.
The decision to increase the subsistence allowance of the resident doctors was taken by the Recommendation Committee of the Medical Education Commission in February last year. A meeting of the commission chaired by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is also the chairman of the commission, this week directed the medical colleges to implement the decision. On Friday, Health Minister Pradeep Poudel was forced to threaten to cancel the affiliation of private medical colleges if the decision was not implemented.
Private medical college operators have put forth the condition that the number of MBBS and BDS seats should be increased to 150 and fees should be increased in return for the government’s decision to provide subsistence allowance equal to the eighth level to the resident doctors.
There are 18 private medical colleges offering post-graduate level including MBBS and BDS.
