Sakshi Gupta from Jammu and Kashmir, India, is studying MBBS in her third year at Karnali Institute of Health Sciences, Jumla. She came to Jumla to study after fulfilling the criteria of the Medical Education Commission. She says, “Here I am also getting to study about health services and education in remote areas.”

Kasturi Singh from Madhya Pradesh, India, and Kartikeya Mishra from Uttar Pradesh are also in Jumla to study MBBS. Sakshi, Kasturi, and Kartikeya, from the same batch, also had the option to study at an urban university in Nepal. But they chose Karnali Institute of Health Sciences. Now they are also impressed by the environment, teaching, and the supportive attitude of the locals in Jumla.

Sakshi says that she had heard before that medical education in Nepal is good and that she is getting to experience it after coming to Jumla. “The education is of high quality, and the hard work of the teachers and staff is also impressive,” she says. Kartikeya, who is studying in his third year of MBBS, says that he was touched by the environment in Jumla along with his studies. ‘The studies are good. The life and environment here have also given him a different experience,’ he says. 

There are five Indian students in the batch after Sakshi, Kasturi and Kartikeya. In that batch, Angel Singh from New Delhi, Abdul Ahmed from Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, Ridima Chauhan from Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand, Shreya Tripathi and Digvijay Singh from Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. 

There are five Indian students in the batch after Sakshi, Kasturi and Kartikeya. In that batch, Angel Singh from New Delhi, Abdul Ahmed from Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, Ridima Chauhan from Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand, Shreya Tripathi and Digvijay Singh from Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. Till a few years ago, Karnali was considered synonymous with poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. Due to the lack of employment in the villages, most of the youth of Karnali still go to states like Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh in India for employment. But now, students from Uttarakhand are in Jumla to study medicine. The principal of the institute, Dr. Double Bahadur Dhami, says that Indian students have been impressed by Karnali’s studies. 

‘Indian students could have gone to any other university in Nepal,’ he said, ‘The government institution, the level of education, the regularity of the teachers and staff and the interest in studying health education in remote areas also seem to have brought them to Jumla.’ He said that the presence of Indian students has added enthusiasm to the overall educational activities of the institution. 

Karnali Institute of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital came into operation in 2068. The institution has 13 programs, including undergraduate and postgraduate, in four schools of medical education. The educational programs of MBBS, MD and MS under the School of Medicine and Bachelor in Pharmacy and Master in Pharmacy under the School of Pharmacy, BSc Nursing, Bachelor of Nursing and Bachelor of Midwifery Science under the School of Nursing, Bachelor of Public Health and Master in Public Health under the School of Public Health are in operation. 

Currently, 50 people are studying in MBBS, 20 in Nursing, 20 in BNS, 20 in BPH, 20 in BSc Nursing and 20 in BPharma. The institute is also preparing to start PhD level programs in rural health, public health and pharmacy soon, informed the Rector Dr. Dhami. The institute employs 120 teachers and staff. 

According to Rector Dr. Dhami, the attraction of students towards the Karnali Institute is increasing in recent days as all the students who have studied pharmacy, nursing and public health at the institute have passed the licensing examination. He says that since there is also a 300-bed hospital, it is also easy for students studying at the institute to gain practical knowledge. 'We have been able to provide quality education even with limited resources, due to which even Nepali students from accessible areas come to Jumla to study,' he says.