KATHMANDU: Agitating bodies at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) are organising a mass meeting tomorrow to give continuity to their protest.

Dr Karbir Nath Yogi, president of Professor's Association at the Institute of Medicine (IoM) said they are not satisfied with the recommendation of the probe committee that has been formed under Govinda Acharya, Dean of Faculty of Management, as there is no representation of the IoM there. "It is impossible to work without the resident doctors," he said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education (MoE) today expressed serious concern over the closure of the hospital and appealed for the resumption of services as soon as possible. A statement issued by the MoE said the entrance exams for post-graduate courses that were conducted by the IoM on March 13 and 14 have been cancelled and new tests will be held on a later date.

The statement also said action will be taken against those involved in malpractices in the examination and the government will plug in all loopholes in the examination system. It further said that senior professors will be burdened with the responsibility of conducting the re-exams.

The hospital administration has been time and again urging the resumption of the services in the hospital. The resident doctors and other staffers have halted services for the past 13 days. They have accused the Dean, Dr Arun Sayami, and his deputies of leaking out question papers to some candidates for money.

Dr Deebya Raj Mishra, spokesperson of the joint struggle committee, said they had not yet received official letters from the MoE. He further demanded formation of a high-level investigative commission to look into the irregularities, as according to him, they will not recognise the commission formed under Govinda Acharya. He also demanded sacking the officials concerned during the investigation period.

Chandra Kumar Rai, administration chief at TUTH, said that primary health care services are being given by medical officers, while there are around 90 patients in the hospital.