Dr Govinda KC, senior orthopaedician at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), began his fast-unto-death against political appointment of the dean at the Institute of Medicine (IoM) from 3:30pm on Saturday amid presence of security personnel.

KC had to delay his strike by one-and-a-half hours after some protesters, who claimed to be mobilised by the Nepal Students’ Union (NSU), a student wing of the Nepali Congress, demonstrated against his strike and barred him from entering the venue chanting slogans in favour of newly appointed dean Dr Sashi Sharma.

KC said he is against the appointment of Sharma—a controversial figure whose involvement in corruption during his tenure in the Nepal Medical Council is being investigated by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA)—as the IoM dean. Sharma was appointed to the post a month after his predecessor Dr Prakash Sayami resigned amid a bitter dispute over granting affiliation to new medical colleges.

“Dr Sayami was forced to resign after he denied granting affiliation to medical colleges. The TU then stopped the promotion of faculty members and started ignoring the institute,” KC said. “I will die but will not step down until my demands are addressed.”

KC has been demanding that the government should reinstate the former dean, stop the affiliation process to new medical colleges, end political interference in the IoM and take action against the present office bearers of the university.

Sayami had tendered his resignation on December 4, unyielding to the demand of the TU that the IoM give the varsity’s accreditation to new medical colleges. The affiliation row between the TU and the IoM came to the fore after the university on 26 September 2013 published a notice calling for applications for affiliation from colleges that have taken the consent letter from the Ministry of Education.

The move was strongly objected to by the IoM, arguing that new affiliations could not be granted at a time when the institute is struggling to manage and monitor the existing medical colleges.

The TU had inspected some private medical colleges with a view to grant them affiliations, but the CIAA intercepted the process saying that it was the IoM’s job.

Meanwhile, many doctors at the TUTH are divided over KC’s fast-unto-death . “Hunger strike is not a solution. Staging such strikes on a regular basis will not send positive messages,” Dr Dinesh Binod Pokhrel, president of the IoM chapter of the TU Teachers’ Association, said.

Meanwhile, NSU Chairman Ranjit Karna said they are against the KC’s demands. He, however, said the protesters who were present at the site were not mobilised by his organisation.

source: Manish gautam, the kathmandu post,12 Jan 2014