Medical entrance preparation centres celebrate their success each year with newspaper advertisements and billboards plastered with the photos of students who find placement in medical colleges.

1. Colleges, prep centres do brisk business in tandem
Medical entrance preparation centres celebrate their success each year with newspaper
advertisements and billboards plastered with the photos of students who find placement in
medical colleges. These stories go a long way toward hyping the quality of tutorial services
provided by the institutes.
But the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority thinks many of these achievements
by their students may in fact be tainted. The CIAA on Sunday raided two popular coaching
centres in the Capital—NAME and Orbit Medical Entrance Preparation—as part of its drive to
root out rogue institutes. The officials seized documents and computers from their premises and
also the Baneshwor residence of Nabin Sharma, a NAME owner, where they found a bond paper.
Officials suspect that the paper could have been signed between the entrance preparation centre
and clients who had been assured of question papers prior to the exams.
According to those involved in the medical education industry, the rot in the system is
widespread and also goes deep. While the CIAA has started a full-fledged probe into the market
for leaked questions, there also seems to be a nexus between medical colleges and the tutorial
institutes.
CIAA chief Lokman Singh Karki said at a function on Tuesday that they were investigating the
MBBS entrance scam with high priority. The Biratnagar-based Nobel Medical College is a case
in point. This college runs its own medical entrance preparation centre, Vibrant, at New Plaza,
Putalisadak with funding by Dr Sunil Sharma, owner of the college. College officials boast that
many students admitted to Nobel come from Vibrant.
Interestingly, Dr Sharma, who is a good friend of Dr V Natraj Prasad, director of the College of
Medical Sciences, Bharatpur, has used the Vibrant platform for other benefits too. Sources say
many students are referred to the college in Bharatpur. Those who wish to study dental science
are sent to People’s Dental College, Nayabazaar, which is owned by Dr Sharma.
There is a prerequisite though. Each student willing to study medical courses should mandatorily
pass the entrance examination conducted by Tribuvan University and Kathmandu University.
Since almost all the students attend the preparation classes, there are two benefits for the
institutes.
First, if they score high marks, the institutes cash on the names of successful students to attract
others. Second, if students pass the entrance test but cannot make it to better institutes such as the
Institute of Medicine and Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, they may be
referred to a college of their interest.
Orbit Institute is owned by Sunil Regmi, a promoter of Birat Medical College, Biratnagar. Regmi
proudly claims that he also looks after the admission process and administrative activities of
medical colleges including Birat and Devdaha. The two are new on the list of medical schools to
get affiliation from Kathmandu University.

2. “My target groups are the people who have a lot of money and are willing to spend on their
children’s medical education,” Regmi told the Post. “We are just doing our job. There is nothing
wrong in referring students to the college of one’s interest. It’s up to the students to be enrolled
in the college of our choice.”
According to Regmi, many times medical colleges offer hefty commission to entrance
preparation centres for sending students to them. “We have our own bargaining point. No
medical college wants to leave their seat unoccupied which is worth Rs 4 million each. This is
where we play,” said Regmi.
Among the total 23, there are eight medical colleges affiliated to TU, including the prestigious
IoM, and 10 colleges that offer MBBS courses from KU. The remaining five are dental colleges.
Sharma of NAME, however, has a different view. He said the CIAA is just trying to act smart
although he has nothing to comment on the issues under investigation. He denies NAME’s
involvement in forging deals with any medical college although he believes there are many
anomalies going around.
A medical college owner requesting anonymity said if they do not appease these institutes, there
are chances that they might talk against the college in a way to negatively impact the admission
process.
There are around 2,500 MBBS seats in total while around 9,000 students join the three
preparation centres. Each student is charged Rs10,000 on an average for the preparation course.