KATHMANDU: Nepal Army (NA) Chief Purna Chandra Thapa on Friday accepted that Nepal Army Institute of Health Sciences, the medical college run by the national army, has overcharged students.
During a meeting with Minister for Education Girirajmani Pokharel held at the ministry, Chief Of the Army Staff (COAS) Thapa expressed his commitments that the overcharged fees will be returned.
Khabarhub had exposed that the medical college has been charging the ‘undue’ fee for long at the time when protests have flared against private medical colleges for overcharging.
Sources at the ministry said Education Minister summoned COAS Thapa to the ministry to discuss the issue.
“Minister Pokharel held a talk with COAS Thapa at 5 pm today. During the meeting, NA Chief accepted that the medical college charged students with the fees excess than determined by the government,” the source told Khabarhub, “ COAS Thapa expressed his commitments that the excess fees will be returned.”
During the meeting, Minister Pokharel urged COAS Thapa to adjust the fees and charged the students the fees fixed by the government.
During the meeting, along with Minister Pokharel and COAS Thapa, Vice-Chairman of Medical Education Commission Shree Krishna Giri and Education Secretary Mahesh Dahal were present.
Lately, it is found that the Nepal Army Institute of Health Science, an organization affiliated to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), has been charging the ‘undue’ fees for long.
Nepal Army’s medical college has boldly included the extra fees in its fee structure, it is worth noting that no private medical colleges have dared to display extra fees charged against the government directives.
Khabarhub sources had found that Army College collected around 800000 rupees/person extra in the fiscal year 2073/74.
The government has fixed Rs 3.5 million as the total fees for the students pursuing their study in the affiliated colleges in the valley; when the colleges outside the valley can charge the fees between 3.8 million to 5 million rupees.
Although IOM circulated all medical colleges not to levy any extra amount from students, the Army College’s fees structure shows that the college has collected Rs 782,000 per student extra fee from the students.
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