Kathmandu: Students from Lumbini Medical College and Teaching Hospital in Palpa have refused to start their internships and are currently staging protests within the college premises, demanding the hospital to refund the additional charges imposed on them.
As the college administration ignored their demands to reimburse the charges, they [students] have been on the protest for the last five days. They accuse the college administration of forcefully charging the amount as internship and additional charges.
The tenth batch of MBBS students of Lumbini Medical College and Teaching Hospital, under the Kathmandu University, claims that the college has charged Rs 200,000 as internship fees, Rs 95,000 as miscellaneous charges, and Rs48,000 as service charges. “These charges are against the laws,” agitated students told Nepal Live Today.
“We are threatened by the college administration for not joining the internship program. We will continue the protest until our demands are met,” said a student.
Kathmandu University begins the internship program from June 20 onwards for the students who have passed the examinations held in mid-March to early April. However, students at the Palpa-based college have refused to join.
“The additional fees paid by the students and basic allowance for internships should be made available after the fourth year examination. Instead, the college administration is threatening the students,” according to the students.
As per the National Medical Education Act, 2018/19, colleges are allowed to charge only up to Rs 4.5 million for MBBS, However, students at Lumbini Medical College say they were forced to pay more than Rs six million for it.
Photos: Lumbini Medical College students
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