Oct 14, 2017-Efforts made so far to
streamline the medical education sector in the country have met with a major
setback, if they have not gone down the chute, as Parliament held its last
meeting on Friday without endorsing the Health Profession Education (HPE) Bill.
After the
government plan to table the bill on Thursday was blocked by the CPN-UML and
the CPN (Maoist Centre), it was expected that it would be tabled in Parliament
on Friday.
Dr Govinda
KC, who has been staging his 13th hunger strike for the
last nine days demanding endorsement of the bill with a provision of putting a
moratorium on establishing new medical colleges in Kathmandu Valley, on
Thursday had called on Onasari Gharti Magar to use her “special powers” in the
capacity of the House Speaker to get the bill endorsed.
With the
incumbent Parliament having no business for Saturday, as lawmakers likely to
attend the House just to bid goodbye to each other, the only way the government
can push the bill is through ordinance.
But a
minister ruled out that possibility. “It’s too early to talk about ordinance,”
said Education Minister Gopal Man Shrestha.
Endorsing
the HPE Bill in line with the recommendations made by a team of experts is one
of the demands of Dr KC. The original HPE Bill had the provision of banning new
medical colleges in the Valley for the next 10 years.
But a House
committee had tweaked the bill, inserting a clause that favoured a handful of
institutions backed by some UML and Maoist Centre members.
On
Wednesday—the seventh day of Dr KC’s 13th hunger strike—the
Ministry of Education agreed to amend the bill in line with Dr KC’s demand.
“The CPN
Maoist is in favour of B&C Medical College while the UML is trying to
protect the investment at the Manmohan Medical College. The conflicts of
interests [of their lawmakers] made it impossible to endorse the bill from
Parliament,” said Nepali Congress leader and former health minister Gagan
Thapa.
The
Jhapa-based B&C Medical College is promoted by Maoist Centre members while
UML lawmakers have stakes in the Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health
Sciences.
Had the bill
been endorsed in line with Dr KC’s demand, these institutions would have been
affected.
UML Chief
Whip Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal told the Post that his party would not agree to the
amendments made to the bill without consulting his party. “Any changes that
have been made now are not acceptable to us. We are for endorsing the bill that
was forwarded by the parliamentary committee,” said Dhakal.
Efforts by
Speaker Gharti Magar to move the bill failed again on Friday as the UML and the
Maoist Centre refused to budge. The Speaker held a meeting with Prime Minister
Sher Bahadur Deuba, UML Chairman KP Oli and chief whips of major parties on
Friday.
A Parliament
meeting has been called for 3pm on Saturday.
“We will try
our best tomorrow [Saturday] to get the bill endorsed by Parliament,” said
Minister Shrestha.
But Bharat
Raj Gautam, spokesperson for Parliament, said he had no information about the
HPE Bill being on the agenda for Saturday’s meeting.