Nepal’s Medical Education Commission has allocated 418 additional places across medical and health-science programmes for the coming academic year, taking the total number of places to 9,691. The increase is confined to government-run institutions, while the number of places at private medical colleges is unchanged.
The decision comes as tens of thousands of applicants prepare for the integrated entrance examinations. A total of 77,359 students have applied to sit the tests, which are due to begin on 31 October and run until 4 November. The schedule covers undergraduate courses including medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy and public health.
Of the extra places, 110 are in undergraduate medicine. Shaheed Dasharath Chand University of Health Sciences in Geta, Sudurpashchim Province, has been approved to offer 50 medical places for the first time. The B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences in Dharan and the Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences have each received 30 additional medical places.
The allocation puts a renewed focus on publicly run provision at a point when the entrance process is moving towards its next stage. The Commission has said the additional capacity is intended to widen access to medical education at institutions where tuition is lower than in the private sector. It has also maintained that the seat decisions were based on inspections and assessments of institutional capacity.
The difference between public and private provision is central to the policy. Government medical colleges reserve a larger share of places for scholarship students, while private colleges retain their existing allocations. The new distribution does not create an automatic place for any applicant: candidates must still take the entrance examinations and progress through the admissions process.
The examination timetable begins with the medical degree test on 31 October, followed by dentistry on 1 November and BSc Nursing on 2 November. Tests for several other health-science programmes are scheduled for 3 November, with public health on 4 November. Each examination is due to take place from 11am to 2pm at designated centres.
The Commission allocated places to 84 of the 90 institutions that submitted self-assessment forms for the coming year. It said the assessments considered facilities, teaching staff, other human resources and compliance with the standards required for each programme. That process is particularly significant for courses which depend on clinical teaching and hospital-based training.
The expansion has also prompted criticism from medical education reform campaigner Dr Govinda KC. He has challenged approval for the new medical programme in Geta and the additional places at the Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences, arguing that the institutions may not yet meet the necessary infrastructure, staffing and legal standards. Those are his stated concerns, not findings established by an independent ruling.
The Commission has taken a different position, saying the allocations followed inspection reports prepared by expert teams. The disagreement means attention will now turn to how the new capacity is delivered as admissions proceed, particularly at institutions taking on new or expanded medical courses.
For applicants, the immediate milestone is the entrance examination period. The additional places increase the number of potential routes into publicly run medical education, but admission will depend on examination results, eligibility and the subsequent matching process. The allocation therefore sets the capacity for the year ahead rather than confirming places for individual students.
