The Faculty Board of the Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, has decided not to grant affiliation to any medical colleges until further notice.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Faculty Board held today following Prime Minister Sushil Koirala’s directives.

Prime Minister had Koirala written to the IoM Faculty Board, directing it not to grant affiliation to any medical colleges for the time being.

“The process of granting affiliation has been halted until further notice,” said an IoM official.

Recently, Tribhuvan University had asked the Faculty Board for affiliation to National Medical College, Ghattekulo, and Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences.

Meanwhile, Dr Govinda KC and other resident doctors staged a sit-in protest outside the Office of the Dean of IoM from 11am to 1pm today to pressure the faculty doctors not to grant approval for affiliation to any medical colleges.

Dr KC, a senior orthopedic surgeon, on November 6 had announced that he would stage fast-unto-death again if the agreements reached earlier were not implemented.

In response the decision to halt affiliation for the time being, Dr KC said, “This is just one step. The government is not yet clear regarding other demands mentioned in the agreement. I will stick to my decision. If the government fails to implement the agreements at the earliest, I will go on hunger strike as I had announced earlier.”

source: the himalayan times,11 nov 2014