Feb 7, Kathmandu:  The government has cleared the way for Purbanchal  University to operate a medical college. With the decision of the Council of Ministers to allow Koshi Hospital in Biratnagar to be used as a teaching hospital until the college operates its own separate hospital, the way to operate the medical college has been opened.

An agreement was signed between Purvanchal University and Koshi Hospital on January 19, 2022 AD to allow it to be used as a teaching hospital. The agreement was approved by the federal government cabinet meeting.

University Senate member and National Assembly member Gopi Bahadur Achami informed that with the approval of the agreement, all necessary preparations for the operation of the medical college will be completed by the end of March.

The Medical Education Act stipulates that a teaching hospital with 300 beds should be required to operate a medical college and such a hospital should be in operation for three years. However, although the Eastern University had the necessary infrastructure including buildings, it could not operate a hospital, so the objective of operating a medical college could not go ahead.

According to the university, after giving approval to the agreement to use Koshi Hospital as a teaching hospital from the meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Monday, the rest of the process will be carried forward rapidly.

Achami, a member of the Senate and a member of the National Assembly, informed that the teacher vacancies will be opened immediately by making a tripartite agreement between the Ministry of Health and Population, the Ministry of Education, and the Eastern University.

"Now there is a tripartite agreement, then the Medical Education Commission will allow the medical college to operate and determine the student quota," Achami said. Achami informed me that the university still has the necessary structure to study for 40 students.

University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Yadavraj Koirala also said that after the tripartite agreement, the work of running the medical college will go ahead. The building is ready for MBBS. We will open up the teacher vacancies and proceed with teaching from next year," he said.

In order to implement the commitment made during the election, elected members of parliament from that area Sunil Sharma, Jeevan Acharya, National Assembly member Gopi Bahadur Achami and others took the initiative to prepare an environment for continuous university operation.

As a result, the Cabinet meeting held on Monday decided to allow Koshi Hospital to be used as a teaching hospital. Expressing happiness over the decision of the government, the locals of this area have praised the decision of the government on social networks.

In the last election, the current Prime Minister Prachanda had also come to this region and made a commitment regarding the operation of the Medical College of the Eastern University, which has been on the electoral agenda for a long time.