Kathmandu—Postgraduate (PG) medical examinees have expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Medical Education Commission’s (MEC) decision to reduce the number of seats allocated to private medical colleges in the PG matching process.

At a press conference on Monday, the examinees demanded an immediate halt to the ongoing matching process, urging the commission to proceed based on the previously determined seat allocation. While MEC has increased the number of seats in government institutions for postgraduate (MD/MS/MDS) programs, it has significantly reduced seats in private medical colleges—cutting them by more than half.

‘The matching process should be halted until the seat numbers are finalized,’ said PG examinee Dr. Saroj Yadav. He accused the commission of contradicting the information it previously submitted to the Supreme Court, arguing that this amounts to contempt of court.

The examinees also pointed out that the notice published on Chaitra 14 reflects an incomplete matching process. Despite repeated requests to rectify the decision, they claim that MEC has ignored their concerns. They have warned of protests if their demands are not met.

This year, the Medical Education Commission allocated a total of 1,341 seats for both government and private medical colleges. Earlier, during the commission’s 16th meeting on Magh 25, chaired by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, it was decided that resident doctors would receive a monthly stipend of NPR 48,737, equivalent to the salary of an eighth-level government officer.

While this decision has been officially communicated for implementation, private medical colleges have stated that they cannot afford to provide the stipulated stipend.