KATHMANDU: At a time when the country is bracing for the third wave of Omicron variant of COVID19, foreign returnee medical students have been left in the lurch due to apathy of the authorities concerned.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology instructed Medical Education Commission (MEC) on January 6, 2022, to form a task force to manage foreign returnee medical students. Medical students returning from various foreign universities, including in China, have yet to complete their MBBS internship and thus coursework.

The cabinet on December 29, 2021, keeping in mind the problems of foreign returnee medical students, gave approval to form a task force to resolve their issue.

However, MEC is yet to form the task force as affected students stare at their uncertain future wondering about the delay in managing their internships.

Two weeks have passed since the cabinet decision to facilitate medical students, however, MEC is yet to implement the cabinet decision even as the possibility of the country going into smart lockdown is rising each day.

Nepali students enrolled in MBBS program in China in 2015 and 2016 are of the view that they could be useful at this time of crisis only if the MEC took prompt action to implement the cabinet decision.

Meanwhile, the students have requested MEC to form a task force at the earliest in coordination with all bodies concerned, including the Health Ministry, for their placement in health institutions in service of citizens seeking medical care and attention.