Dr Govinda KC ends fast as government agrees Geta MBBS probe and university-law ordinance
Under a six-point agreement signed on 7 November, a five-member panel will review medical seat approvals, and the Cabinet is to issue an ordinance within two weeks changing how officials of the Shahid Dasharath Chand University of Health Sciences are qualified and appointed.
In this article
Dr Govinda KC, the orthopaedic surgeon who has staged repeated hunger strikes to press for reform of medical education, ended his 25th protest fast on the morning of 7 November (21 Kartik 2083 BS) after signing a six-point agreement with the government. According to the Kathmandu Post, he had begun the fast in Ilam on 28 October.
Education and Sports Minister Sasmit Pokharel signed for the government. The Prime Minister’s health adviser Prof Dr Jagadish Agrawal, MP Pukar Bam and Nepal Medical Association president Dr Badri Rijal signed as witnesses.
What the agreement says
- Probe panel. A five-member committee led by Prof Dr Ramesh Prasad Acharya will examine whether the Medical Education Commission’s decision of 16 October (30 Asoj) met the required standards. That decision allowed MBBS and other programmes, and fixed seat numbers, at the Shahid Dasharath Chand University of Health Sciences in Geta, Kailali, and added MBBS seats at the Army Medical College under the Nepali Army Institute of Health Sciences. Matching of students who passed the common entrance examination will proceed only after the panel’s recommendations are implemented.
- Accountability. Officials involved in approvals or seat decisions that breached standards or involved a conflict of interest will face action.
- Ordinance. Within two weeks, the Cabinet will issue an ordinance amending the university’s Act of 2082 BS to change the qualifications and appointment rules for its officials. Appointments will begin once it is issued.
- Earlier deal. Outstanding points from the agreement reached on 11 Shrawan, during KC’s 24th fast, will be implemented in full.
- Monitoring. A joint task force, with representatives of both sides, will meet at least once a month.
- Medical colleges. Budget will be allocated for government medical colleges or health science academies in Dadeldhura, Ilam and Udayapur, and work on a medical college in Bardibas will start immediately.
Background
KC had challenged the Commission’s decision, arguing, according to the Kathmandu Post, that it approved programmes and allocated seats in Geta without properly assessing the university’s infrastructure, staffing and compliance with standards. The agreement does not annul that decision; whether the standards were met will be decided after the panel reports.
The legal angle
The most concrete legal commitment is the ordinance. Under Article 114 of the Constitution, the President may issue an ordinance on the Cabinet’s recommendation when neither house of the Federal Parliament is in session and immediate action is needed. An ordinance has the force of an Act but must be tabled in Parliament and lapses unless approved within the period the Constitution sets. Onlinekhabar reported on 9 November that two other ordinances recommended by the Cabinet had been under study at the President’s Office for a week. The two-week deadline under the KC agreement runs to around 21 November (early Mangsir).
The agreement does not name the other members of the probe panel or set a deadline for its report.
Sources
Other reporting
- Dr KC ends hunger strike after government agrees to probe Geta MBBS approval — The Kathmandu Post, 7 Nov 2026
- Dr Govinda KC ends fast after six-point agreement (in Nepali) — Onlinekhabar, 7 Nov 2026
- Committee to investigate Geta MBBS seat dispute; KC ends fast (in Nepali) — Kantipur, 7 Nov 2026
- President studying two ordinances for a week (in Nepali) — Onlinekhabar, 9 Nov 2026
