Rahul Nepali of Kathautia Banbehada, Gauriganga Municipality-6, Kailali is one of the students who has been selected for MBBS on a full scholarship from the provincial government. Rahul's father, Surat Nepali, who used to work in Punjab, India to support his family, educated his son up to the secondary level with that income. Although Rahul, who excelled in studies, wanted to become a doctor, he was unable to pay the fees due to his poor financial situation. 'Rahul's dream of becoming a doctor is being fulfilled by being selected for a full scholarship from the Sudurpaschim Provincial Government,' said Rahul's brother Tek Bahadur Nepali. 

The students who have been selected for MBBS on a full scholarship from the province have different family backgrounds. One such student is Purnima BC. Purnima, who hails from Kailali, had appeared in the MBBS entrance exam for three consecutive years. But the family was unable to pay the fees for her daughter's MBBS. So she dropped out for two consecutive years. ‘My daughter’s dream of studying MBBS is coming true as she was selected for the province’s scholarship for the third year,’ said Purnima’s father Narendra Wad. ‘My daughter had also continued her BSc studies as she could not afford to study.’ She is currently studying at Maharajgunj under IOM. She is the only Dalit student to have received the opportunity to study since the province launched the scholarship program. 

Ramesh Raj Bhatt from Darchula has a similar background to Purnima. Ramesh also dropped out of the entrance exam for two consecutive years because he did not have the financial means to study by paying the fees. He, who also submitted his name for the third year, says he got the opportunity to study because he was selected for the province’s scholarship quota. ‘With my father’s low-level job, I was not in a position to pay 5 million for MBBS,’ said Ramesh. ‘Being selected for a full scholarship is my hard work and good fortune.’ He is currently studying in Dharan. Most of the students and their parents have said that they got the opportunity to pursue medical education because of the scholarship program run by the province. 

Nine students of the first batch studying medical education (MBBS) on full scholarships from the Far West Provincial Government are in the final stages of completing their studies. Now they will be deployed in the health service within a few months.

After the provincial government started scholarships for MBBS studies in 2078, Sushant Baduwal of Kailali, Bikash Bogati of Achham, Bhavana Bhatta of Dadeldhura, Ramesh Raj Bhatta of Darchula, Aradhana Deuba of Doti, Pratibha Joshi of Bajhang, Dil Bahadur Bhandari of Baitadi, Subash Singh Chaisir of Darchula and Pravesh Shah of Bajura were selected. They will complete their studies and be deployed in the service within a few months, said Jaydev Mahara, Head of the Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Social Development. The Far West Provincial Government has been training 53 students to become doctors (MBBS) since five years ago until the current fiscal year. 

The provincial government has set certain criteria for receiving scholarships. The Ministry of Social Development selects students who score the best marks in the evaluation from the applicants for scholarships. According to Social Development Minister Meghraj Khadka, in the selection guideline, in order to receive scholarships, the rule has been made that students must have passed the Integrated Entrance Examination conducted by the Medical Education Commission and must have permanent residence in the Far West. According to the educational background criteria, different weightages have been determined for criteria such as having studied in class eight, SEE and Plus Two in community, public trust, private trust and private schools, having studied in the Far West, studying in schools outside the province, and the marks obtained. 

‘The basis and marks for selection have been determined in the guideline,’ says Dr. Chetraj Joshi, Head of the Hospital Development and Medical Services Division at the Ministry of Social Development. ‘There is no rule that only students who have studied in community schools can claim scholarships. But students who have studied in government schools for eight classes, SEE and Plus Two will get double the marks.' Even if students who have studied in government or private schools can claim, the marks are different. 

Kamal Bahadur Shah, Chief Minister of Sudurpaschim Province, said that the provincial government has started scholarships targeting Dalits, indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities, marginalized, endangered communities, backward areas and students who have scored excellent marks. 'Producing doctors by providing full scholarships for MBBS is the dream project of the Sudurpaschim Province government. The manpower produced will be deployed in service from this year,' said Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah, 'After completing their studies, they have been required to serve in the province for a certain period of time.' 

The Ministry of Social Development has made a rule that after studying MBBS, the first batch will serve in government hospitals in Sudurpaschim for three years and the subsequent batches for two years. 'The first batch will have to serve for three years. One year will be deployed in hospitals in the mountains, one year in the mountains and one year in the Tarai. We have made a procedure for the subsequent batches to serve for two years,' said Dr. Hemraj Regmi, Secretary of the Ministry of Social Development. 'We have also prepared a procedure for deployment from provincial to municipal basic hospitals to provide eighth-level service facilities.' 

The students of the first batch admitted in 2078/79 will be deployed to health institutions in the Far West after completing their studies in Ashar. With the aim of reducing the existing problem of the shortage of doctors, the Far West government is providing full scholarships to nine people every year to teach undergraduate (MBBS) in the Faculty of Medicine. The provincial government has been operating the scholarship program through the Ministry of Social Development since 2078/79. In 2079, the ministry has stated that 18 people were given scholarships in two phases. In subsequent years, students have been selected to be provided scholarships at the rate of nine people.

The ministry has stated that there was no inclusive quota system in the first four batches, but later the guidelines were changed and inclusive quotas were determined from the fifth batch onwards. ‘Five open and four inclusive quotas have been determined out of nine,’ said Mahara, Head of the Higher Education Division. ‘Women, Dalits, Indigenous people, Tharu, Rana Tharu, disabled and backward areas have been placed in the cluster for the inclusive quota.’ So far, the sixth batch has been selected and studying, and the inclusive quota has been implemented in the fifth and sixth batches. They were admitted in 2078/79. Since then, 53 people are studying medical education on full scholarships at the expense of the provincial government until the current fiscal year. Of them, 41 are male and 12 are female.

Among the students who are getting the opportunity to study MBBS with full scholarships, one female and one male from the Dalit community, and two from the Tharu community have got the opportunity. Students from remote districts like Bajhang and Darchula have also received scholarships. The Sudurpaschim government has invested Rs 90 lakh in study scholarships for nine students of one batch at the rate of Rs 1 million per student annually. The provincial government invests Rs 50 lakh per student until the completion of the study. Of the 53 students studying MBBS, Kailali has the highest number of 13. Out of which 10 are male and three are female.

Kailali's Stuti Mishra, Saraswati Ojha, Purnima BC, along with Rahul Nepali, Prajwal Binadi, Yaman Ojha, Vishal Dagoura, Aryan Dahal, Saurabh Chaudhary, Sushant Baduwal, Praveen Devkota, Sandesh Poudel and Rohit Raj Bhatt are studying medical education on scholarships from the state government. There are 11 students from Bajhang who have received full scholarships. These include Navina Bohara, Pratibha Joshi, Abhishesh Joshi, Dipesh Pandit, Milan Joshi, Arun Giri, Nagendra Upadhyay, Mukunda Mishra, Narayan Upadhyay, Dinesh Joshi and Sanjay Mishra.

Aarohi Bhandari, Preeti Karki, Saurabh Pant, Mahendra Singh Dhami, Ramesh Raj Bhatt, Subash Singh Chaisir, Birendra Singh Badal and Anup Awasthi from Darchula are studying MBBS on full scholarship. Rekha Joshi, Prakriti Joshi, Bhawana Joshi, Sandesh Joshi, Gaurav Joshi, Niranjan Mishra and Ayush Joshi from Kanchanpur are studying while Aradhana Deuba, Deep Upadhyay, Deepak Kapadi and Janakraj Joshi are studying from Doti. Gokarna Bhandari, Bikash Bogati and Bhupendra Bhandari are from Achham. Three from Bajura are Nitesh Kumar Dhami, Abhishesh Mahatara and Pravesh Shah. Harish Prasad Bhatt and Dil Bahadur Bhandari from Baitadi are studying MBBS on full scholarship.