Government forms four-member team for talks with Dr Govinda KC
The team, led by Joint Secretary Jayaram Adhikari, will hold talks with the hunger-striking medical education campaigner, whose health has worsened.
Published November 4, 2026 5:20 pm GMT+0545
The government has formed a four-member team to hold talks with Professor Dr Govinda KC, who is on hunger strike demanding reform in medical education.
The team is led by Jayaram Adhikari, a joint secretary at the Ministry of Education and Sports. Its other members are the member-secretary of the Medical Education Commission, a representative of the health ministry, and an under-secretary from the ministry's technical education branch.
The ministry said it had taken Dr KC's demands seriously and with sensitivity, and appealed to the hunger-striking side to seek a solution through talks and dialogue.
Grow with Niguro Ads
Simple targeting, honest numbers, pay per view or click. See how Niguro Ads work.
Dr KC has put forward a six-point set of demands linked to medical education and health services. The government has also set out its position on each of them, including that MBBS and nursing programmes at the Shahid Dasharath Chand Health Science Institute in Geta, Kailali, will be allowed only after the required infrastructure, academic staff and legal standards are met, and that seats in government colleges have been increased within the standards approved after monitoring by the Medical Education Commission.
On the demand for an inquiry into senior medical education officials, the government said the officials concerned would be investigated. On the Geta university, it said a 300-bed teaching hospital is operating at full capacity and will be expanded gradually, and that the process of amending the law to make appointments to the university free of dispute and party influence has begun.
On scholarships and quality, the government said quotas are being applied under the law and legal standards in public and private institutions, with standards set and enforced by the Medical Education Commission. On past agreements, a study task force formed by a ministerial decision is preparing a draft report on how far the agreements have been implemented.
On new medical education institutions, the government said work is under way in Surkhet, Butwal and Bardibas, with further budget management in process, and that it remains committed to expanding access to medical education in every province and region.
The talks team will now seek a meeting with Dr KC's side. Whether the hunger strike ends will depend on what those talks produce.
How we report: Editorial Policy Corrections Report an error
Advertise on Niguro
Reach people across Nepal in the feed, the sidebar and inside stories. Start in minutes.
