Rethink required

The government, after a decade, has given all the certificate-holders of Centre for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) a go-ahead to pursue Bachelor’s level course at TU. This decision has caused apprehension among the teachers of the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH). They are concerned not only about their international reputation but also over the problems that may arise if the health assistants (HAs) are allowed to appear for the MBBS course with no proper and equally applicable rules in place. As of now, the decision applies solely to TU and the government’s decision with regard to other universities is not yet clear.

All pros and cons should be weighed prior to formulating rules, which must be uniformly applicable and not forced down the throat of any institution or section. Earlier, the training imparted by the CTEVT-affiliated institutions was not recognised by the TU. As it is, the danger of derecognition of the status of such doctors even now is very high.

Currently, a team lead by the spokesperson of the Education Ministry is conducting a study to determine how feasible is the idea. Some recommendations

on how to bring CTEVT training at par with the Intermediate Certificate Level in Science are expected shortly. Only after a thorough study should the CTEVT-trained health assistants be allowed to appear for the examination for such a highly technical discipline as medicine. This calls for a serious rethink on the part of the government because how fatal

sub-standard services in the medical domain can be is anyone’s guess.