KATHMANDU: The Medical Education Commission has approved and issued the Scholarship Grant Procedure, aimed at streamlining scholarship-related provisions in medical education institutions.
A meeting of the Commission held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Balen Shah made the decision, according to Prime Minister Shah’s press and research advisor Deepa Dahal.
Dahal said the procedure was endorsed within 24 hours after receiving consent from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance, effectively addressing long-standing legal ambiguities and operational challenges.
Following the issuance of an ordinance amending certain laws published in the Nepal Gazette, a new clause (Section 54(b)) was added to the National Medical Education Act, enabling the Commission to formulate necessary directives and procedures.
Previously, due to provisions under Section 35 of the Legislation Act, all existing directives and procedures of the Commission had automatically become invalid, creating a legal vacuum.
With the recent approval from the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Education, the Commission has now moved to resolve the issue. The new procedure paves the way for granting financial subsidies to educational institutions providing free scholarships at public teaching institutions, including postgraduate levels such as DM and MCh.
It also enables the distribution of grants in return for providing free scholarship seats across all levels of medical education institutions under the Commission’s framework.
The meeting was co-chaired by Minister for Health and Food Safety Nisha Mehta, and attended by Commission Vice-Chair Prof. Dr. Shreekrishna Giri along with other members.
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