Residential doctors at BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, who have accused the institute of allocating higher quota for foreign students aspiring for medical studies, padlocked the offices of the vice-chancellor and rector today. 

Alleging that the quota that the institute had set aside for foreign students interested in being enrolled in the MD and MS programmes was higher than provisioned by the National Medical Act, Junior Resident Welfare Society padlocked the offices of VC Prof Dr.Raj Kumar Rauniyar and Rector Prof Dr.Guru Khanal. The society also padlocked the main gate and staged a sit-in.

BPKIHS, however, has been insisting the quota allocation for foreign students is well under the purview of the act. It is important to note the institute has already published the result of its entrance exam. The results were published on Monday.

The society chairperson Kabiraj Poudel said the quota reserved for foreign students must not cross the one-third threshold in each department. “The institute’s interpretation of the one-third quota provision has disappointed Nepali students as though the total number of seats reserved for foreign students is well under the threshold, department-wise more seats than the threshold were reserved for foreign students, which is unfair,” Poudel argued.

Out of the total 150 seats in the MD and MS programmes, all 27 seats under the dental department were reserved for Nepali students, of the remaining seats, 26 have been allocated for foreign students.

Department-wise, major departments such as Medicine, Surgery and ENT have seen quota allocation of more than the one-third mark. These departments have three out of five, four out of six and two out of four seats allocated for foreign students respectively.