The decision was made on December 14, on the basis of a report submitted to the Ministry by a high-level team which visited several medical colleges in China. A team led by Dr LB Thapa, chief of the Clinical Service Division also contained representatives from the Nepal Medical Council and the Ministry of Education.
The issue of allowing Nepali students doing their MBBS abroad to do their practical course (pre-internship) in Nepal has always been controversial. Although MBBS students studying in other countries do not return to the country to do their practical course, students studying in China come to the country to complete their practical course before pursuing their degree in China.
In May 2007, the government made the decision to prohibit students switching from a medical college abroad to a hospital in Nepal to complete their pre-internship. In February, the Ministry even issued a notice warning hospitals in the country not to accept any new foreign MBBS students for pre-internship.
But students and their parents carried out several protest programs demanding the Ministry scrap its decision. The Ministry made a further decision to allow them to do the course, replacing its original decision. However, the Ministry then announced the decision was temporary, and that it would make a permanent decision on the basis of recommendations from the high-level team which would visit medical colleges in China personally.
The team visited China to monitor the quality of medical education received by Nepali students. “The controversial issue of pre-internship was also discussed with the authorities of medical colleges,” said Shankar Dulal at the Ministry, one member of the high-level team. He said the authority stated the colleges have no such provision for sending students to the student’s country of origin to complete a pre-internship course. Rather, it was pressure from the Nepali students themselves that they began to send them back to their country for the practical course. Other foreign students studying in China, however, complete their pre-internship in China itself.
According to Dulal, it has been found that students are required to learn the Chinese language in order to study in China. It has also been identified that the problem of students not doing their pre-internship in China is due to language difficulties.
Though infrastructure in the medical colleges was concluded to be sound, it was found foreign students were taught separately from Chinese students.
Those who go to China under government fellowships do a one-year Chinese language course prior to beginning their MBBS. Such students do the pre-internship in China itself.
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