February 14, 2025 11:38 am
February 14, 2025 11:38 am

Jhapa residents happy as MBBS classes resume in the district

Jhapa, 13th January: The people of Jhapa have expressed happiness after the commencement of the Bachelor of Medical Sciences (MBBS) course in the district. B&C Medical College in Birtamod has started teaching 50 students at the MBBS level for the first time in the former Mechi Zone since 10th January.

As per the affiliation of Kathmandu University and the approval of the National Medical Education Commission, the college has established a separate well-equipped physical infrastructure at Mechinagar-12, Dhaijan for teaching ‘Basic Science’. The medical college has been operating for the past 10 years for clinical teaching at Birtamod-5.

Amritlal Rajbanshi, a member of the House of Representatives, said that the start of medical education in his own district is a matter of pride for the people of Jhapa. “It would be better if quotas could be given to the backward communities of the society, tribals, Dalits and women to study MBBS,” he said. “Rajbanshi, Santhal, Meche, Dhimal, Tajpuriya and other tribal communities are far from access to technical education.”

Nepali Congress Jhapa Secretary Krishna Humagain expressed happiness over the start of medical education in the district, saying that the obligation to send hard-earned money in the Gulf countries to Australia, Europe and America to educate their children to become doctors and engineers will now be removed. Stating that billions of rupees are being spent abroad every year due to the inability to study within the country, he expressed confidence that B&C Medical College will be of great help in stopping the exodus of Nepali capital in the name of studies. Stating that Jhapa will now become a medical hub, he said, “Although the profits and losses of the college belong to the owners, the medical college is the common property of all the people of Jhapa. In the past, people from Jhapa used to go abroad to study medicine, now people from abroad have started coming to Jhapa.”

Kabita Bastola, chairperson of the Women’s Human Rights Protection Network, Jhapa, said that there is a golden opportunity for her daughter-in-law to study health sciences in the district. She said that girls have been freed from the compulsion to get married and be dependent for security when they go abroad to study medicine, and that the creation of such an opportunity in the district is positive from a gender perspective. “It was not easy for girls to study abroad,” she says, “It was a compulsory practice to have to find a male partner and in some cases get married. Parents also wanted the same. However, getting the opportunity to study MBBS in the district has solved all those problems at once. Now, they can study with their parents in the district.”

Prakash Bhandari, a member of the Koshi Province Committee of the CPN (Maoist Center) and in-charge of Jhapa Region No. 1, said that the start of MBBS level education at B&C Medical College marks the beginning of a new era in the educational history of Jhapa. “MBBS education should have been offered in Jhapa much earlier,” he said. “It is a matter of pride that the children of the capable district residents can now pursue medical education in their own backyard. The compulsion to study abroad has ended. We should not forget that during the agitation in Bangladesh last year, we were able to bring Nepali students back home. Now that they can study in the district, they do not have to take many risks abroad.”

Jayadharma Pokharel, central secretary of the Nepal Auditors Association, said that a Nepali has to pay Rs 10 million to complete an MBBS course in Bangladesh, and that if B&C provides education in the district, Rs 500 million capital will be prevented from going abroad in each batch. He recalled that if MBBS level education had been started at B&C Medical College two years ago, his son would not have had to go to Bangladesh, and said that there was an atmosphere of happiness among the parents when he studied in Jhapa, even though it was late. He says, “My son was forced to study in Bangladesh. We wanted to see an end to the situation of having to spend a huge amount of money to study abroad. MBBS education in Jhapa should have started a little earlier.”

Foreigners started coming to study

Out of the 50 students studying at B&C Medical College, which began classes on December 10, 34 are Nepali and 14 are foreign students. Out of 34 natives, five have received 100 percent free scholarships as per the rules of the Nepal government, said Pramish Giri, the college’s public relations officer. “Since the medical college is located 35 kilometers from Bagdogra Airport in West Bengal, B&C has become the first choice for Indian students,” said Giri, the public relations officer. “In the past, Nepalis had to go abroad to get medical education, but now foreigners have started coming to Nepal in droves.”

Stating that the decades-old desire of the people of Jhapa to provide MBBS level education in their own district has finally been fulfilled, he said that even after receiving a letter of intent from the government for the medical college in 2068 BS(2012)and the commissioning of a 300-bed hospital in 2071 BS(2015), it took a decade for the education to start.

Seventy professors are employed

B&C Medical College Principal Prof. Dr. Umesh Sharma recalled that B&C is the youngest college among the 11 affiliated colleges of Kathmandu University and said that 70 professors (full-time faculty) were working at the time of commencement of studies. He said that the best students of the country have chosen B&C Medical College in the first session itself and that studies are being conducted in the well-equipped faculties including Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Community Medicine, Pharmacology and others in the Science Block located in Mechinagar-12.

“The teaching building is quiet and well-equipped,” said Prof. Sharma. “The Basic Science building has five floors. There are two large seminar halls. There are separate classrooms for seven departments. There is a state-of-the-art laboratory and library.” Stating that all students have good hostel facilities and an educational environment, he said that after the establishment of B&C Hospital in Jhapa, one thousand people have received direct employment and now another one thousand jobs will be created after the college is operational.

“In terms of physical infrastructure and academic manpower, B&C should have been affiliated with a medical college much earlier,” said Prof. Sharma. “If education had been allowed from the beginning, 1,000 people would have passed MBBS by now, and those studying here could have become professors.” He believes that B&C Medical College and Hospital have contributed greatly to the economic development of Jhapa and paved the way for making the district a hub for medical education and medical tourism.

The Supreme Court had issued a mandate to grant affiliation to B&C Medical College on Chaitra 13, 2080 BS. Based on the same mandate, Kathmandu University granted affiliation.

Picture of Phatam B. Gurung

Phatam B. Gurung

Recommendation

Latest Update

Login

Please Note:

  • You will need to register in order to leave a comment.
  • You can easily log in using your email, or through Google, Facebook, and Twitter.
  • If you prefer not to comment with your real name, you can change your display name and profile photo to any nickname of your choice. Feel free to comment; your real identity will remain confidential.
  • With registration, you can view a complete summary of your comments, replies, and likes/dislikes in your profile.