A decade after its establishment, Karnali Academy of Health Sciences, Jumla has received a quota of 50 students for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) studies starting this academic year.
In the intake of this academic year, three among 50 students are from the southern neighbor India, the Academy has said. Two female and one male students are among those foreign students. Two female students are from Jammu and Kashmir while the male student is from the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh.
This is the fourth batch for the MBBS program which is starting from mid-February. The Academy had started the MBBS program three years ago.
In the first academic year, the Academy had got a quota of 20 students. Thirty students each had been enrolled in the second and third academic years. It has now received a quota of 50 students for the MBBS program from this academic year.
13 programs; almost 400 students
Currently, a total of 13 programs including bachelors and masters are running in four schools of medical sciences. Bachelor and master programs are operating in School of Medicine, School of Pharmacy and School of Public Health while School of Nursing is running only bachelor program.
Around 100 teachers are engaged in all these programs. The number of students is likely to reach 400 from 300 from mid-February, said Dr Mangal Rawal, the vice chancellor of the Academy.
“With the increase in number of students and programs, we have ensured the quality education, too,” said Rawal, “Hundred percent of examinees have passed the exams in BPH and Nursing. The pass result is better than average in other programs, too.”
Income increases seven times
The income of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences has gone up by seven times in three years. The annual income, which was Rs 50 million three years ago, reached Rs 270 million last year.
“The annual income is likely to hit 320 million this year,” said Rawal, “The distant dream of Karnali people has now been materialized.”
According to Rawal, even though the internal income has increased, it yet to become self-sufficient. Given the increasing number of teachers and staffers for the growing programs, the budget is insufficient.
While between 50 and 100 patients would come to the institution's hospital eight years ago, up to 600 patients come for medical services daily, now-a-days.
The Academy has a plan to build a 100-bed satellite hospital at Rakam Karnali in Dailekh so that 2,000 patients from other districts can have access to medical services on a daily basis. By doing this, about 1 million population of Karnali Province and Sudurpaschim will be benefitted.
Efforts to change the image of Karnali
Until now, Karnali has become synonymous with scarcity, misery and famine. Even though it was attributed to inaccessibility, state apathy was the main reason.
Now, the road network is gradually expanding to overcome the woes. Roads are connecting village life with markets. Karnali Academy of Health Sciences is ensuring expert level healthcare. It, Dr Rawal believes, will improve human development indicators.
He says, "Now in Karnali, we don't let people die of cholera or the spell of cold like before." We have built the infrastructure to deal with such major epidemics and health crisis.”
This institution was ranked among the most sample testing institutions after the National Public Health Laboratory, Teku during the period of COVID-19 pandemic.
Born in Humla, Karnali Vice Chancellor Dr Rawal adds, "Doctors from our Academy went to Bheri Hospital in Nepalganj to run the ICU. This can be taken as a milestone in reversing the traditional image and perception of Karnali.
Karnali in international network
Karnali Academy of Health Sciences is sharing experiences with Sunway Medical Center under Sunway University of Malaysia. Accordingly, five staffers including MDs and nurses will go to Malaysia for training in the next few months and some will come to Karnali for practice.
A professor from the Houston Medical School in the US will also contribute to the Academy.
Similarly, there is collaboration with Memorial University of Canada for research and MDGP programs. The process has been initiated to exchange teachers and professors between the two institutions.
According to the Academy, initiatives are being taken to establish a research center for medicinal herbs in collaboration with Jiujiang Medical University, Jiujiang City, China.
Struggle for infrastructures
Despite all these efforts made so far, Karnali Academy of Health Sciences still lacks sufficient infrastructures.
In 2072 BS, a 300-bed hospital was built in Jumla. Classrooms, hostels and accommodation for teachers and professors are yet to be built.
Due to lack of physical facilities and low salary, the Academy is struggling to retain specialist doctors. The leadership of the Academy has complained that the salary of the specialist doctor who goes to teach in Jumla has not been increased for seven years when that of government employees has been revised up to five times under different topics.
What is even more ironic is that the finance minister of the country speaks in the parliament that a 100-bed satellite hospital will be established at Rakam in Aathbis Municipality under the Karnali Academy of Health Sciences (No. 243), but it is not included in the Red Book.
Even though the officials of the Academy requested the federal government for educational infrastructure in Jumla and the construction of a 100-bed hospital in Rakam, Karnali, for several times, it has fallen on deaf years.
If the government invested in infrastructures, the Karnali Academy of Health Sciences would be self-reliant in the next 4 years, said Rawal.
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