Kathmandu, March 19

Agitating students today padlocked offices of Tribhuvan University vice-chancellor, registrar and rector and dean of Institute of Medicine, demanding action against medical colleges for seeking additional fee and barring MBBS students from taking exams.

Activists of All Nepal National Independent Students Union (Revolutionary), All Nepal National Independent Students Union and Free Students Union of Institute of Medicine padlocked the office accusing the IoM of remaining mute while Gandaki Medical College Teaching Hospital and Research Centre of Pokhara and Kist Medical College of Lalitpur were fleecing students and playing with their future.

Twenty-two students of Kist Medical College were unable to take exams of the MBBS first year as they did not pay additional fee demanded by the college. One of the students of Kist Medical College said on condition of anonymity that the college had demanded additional Rs 90,000 under various headings.

“College Principal Dr BMS Karki has threatened to disqualify us from taking even the chance exam if we complain against the college and do not pay the additional fee,” the student alleged.

All 90 MBBS first-year students of Kist Medical College were asked to pay additional Rs 90,000 under Kist Alumni charge, health insurance and TU registration. However, 22 of them refused to pay the additional fee and were barred from taking exams. “We complained to IoM Dean Dr Jagadish Prasad Agrawal, but he told us to pay the fee,” claimed the KMC student.

Students, their parents and some officers of District Administration Office, Lalitpur, visited the college to discuss the matter with the officials concerned, but no member of the management met them. Dr Amika Pradhan, coordinator of the MBBS course of the college, allowed first-year students to fill the registration form later. However, she was forced to resign for ‘acting contrary to the interest of the college’ two days later, the student told THT.

Bishnu Prasad Mishra, joint secretary at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, who is also a member of the probe committee formed by the ministry to investigate the charging of additional fee by Kist Medical College, said the college had admitted to charging additional fee.

Eighty-six GMC students of MBBS second year were also not allowed to appear for the board exams as they were barred from filling exam registration form for refusing to pay additional fee sought by the college.

Hari Lamsal, joint secretary at the MoEST and coordinator of the probe committee, however, declined to comment, as ‘the panel had yet to prepare its report’. “We can speak about findings of the report only after its submission to the education secretary,” Lamsal told THT.

Milan Gaire, president of IoM Free Student Union, said the Office of Dean and TU had not taken any initiative to bar TU-affiliated medical colleges from demanding additional fee.