NATIONAL8 (Spotlight Weekly]

Good News

A court order asks NMC to register the medical graduates from former USSR universities

By A CORRESPONDENT

It came as a good news for nearly 200 medical graduates from former USSR universities.

The apex court : Delivers the judgement

The apex court on last Wednesday directed Nepal Medical Council (NMC), a regulatory body, to register the doctors who graduated from the medical institutions of former Soviet Union. A total of 54 Nepali doctors had filed nine separate writ petitions at the Supreme Court late last year after NMC refused to give them the practice license, saying they lacked adequate academic qualification.

NMC recognizes only those graduates who have joined medical colleges after passing intermediate level. These doctors had, however, gone directly to the former Communist State after completing the high school level. The students had claimed that they had received permission and foreign exchange facilities before going to study abroad.

The NMC's decision (not to register these medical graduates) had affected around 200 such doctors leading them to file writ petition at the apex court.

A joint bench of Justices Kedar nath Upadhyay and Kedar Prasad Giri gave the writ of mandamus to NMC to register the doctors in line with the prevailing laws. Advocates Ganesh Raj Sharma, Satish Krishna Kharel, Kusum Shrestha and Hari Upreti had pleaded the case on behalf of the petitioners.

"I am very happy to hear the court verdict," said Dr. Sunil Kumar Shrestha, one of the petitioners, who gradauted from former USSR two years ago. "But I am very worried to see that most of my colleagues have already established themselves in medical profession."

Although, the apex courtís verdict has provided relief to the concerned medical graduates, the case itself has pointed to a serious lacunae in the health system of the country. Observers argue that if the concerned authorities had informed the students beforehand about its rules, the whole episode would not have taken place in the first place. By allowing the students to go abroad and by providing them with foreign exchange facilities, the authorities have exposed the lack of coordination among its various departments.

INVESTMENT PROMOTION COMMITTEE
Moving Fast

The government has formed a high-level investment promotion directive committee under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to act as a fast track committee with a view to make the promotion of domestic

as well as foreign private investment effective.

The committee has beenformed in accordance with the open, liberal economic policy and the policy concerning privatization adopted by the government. According to the Prime Minister's Office, members of the committee include deputy Prime Minister, Ministers for Works, Physical Planning, Water Resources, Finance, Industry, Vice Chairman of National Planning Commission and Chief Secretary.

The Secretary at the PMO will work as member-secretary of the Committee. Besides promoting domestic and foreign investment into the country, the Committee will approve, endorse and coordinate for the implementation of investment proposals, supervise, monitor and give necessary directives to create a conducive environment for investment, the PMO said.

"This is a positive move. But it would have been better if the private sector were represented in such a committee," said Narendra K. Basnyat, chairman of Investment Promotion Committee of the FNCCI. "There should be clarity regarding its implementation aspects and it should be the final authority in clearing the big projects," he added.