The municipality has been providing financial assistance to students from its own municipality to become doctors after no one came despite repeated requests for a doctor, and has also provided scholarships to HAs and staff nurses.
What you should know
Rajkumar Sijapati, 26, of Chhepadi, Aathbis Municipality-9, Dailekh, is very happy to provide health services to his neighbors.
Sijapati, who has been working as the hospital chief at Rakamkarnali Basic Hospital since November 11, was provided a scholarship by Aathbis Nagar to study MBBS.
He returned to the municipality after completing his MBBS studies from Kathmandu Medical College. ‘The municipality has fulfilled my dream of becoming a doctor,’ says Sijapati. ‘What greater achievement could there be than being able to serve in one’s own village?’ There is a provision for students who are educated on scholarships by the local government to serve in the same area for at least two years. ‘It is a matter of pride to be able to study from the taxes collected by the village and then serve the same villagers again,’ says Sijapati. According to him, now the municipality should create an environment for working locally by producing its own human resources instead of looking for doctors from outside.
Sijapati returned to the municipality to serve after completing five years of studies. ‘Like me, many other young people should also get support from the local government and get an environment to work in their own places,’ he says. Since becoming the hospital chief, he has been examining the health of 25 to 30 patients daily. “The villagers talk about their health problems without any hesitation, calling them our doctors,” he says. However, he says that even for general specialist services, locals here are still forced to go to Surkhet or Achham.
Deputy Chief Kalpana Thapa said that after the municipality repeatedly asked for doctors but no one came, it decided to produce doctors with its own investment. “Having a doctor in their village, locals do not have to travel to other districts for treatment,” she said. The municipality has made a procedure to provide scholarships for doctors, HAs and staff nurses every year. So far, the municipality has sent two doctors, one HA and two staff nurses to study on scholarships. After completing their studies, they have to serve in the municipality for at least two years.
Similarly, Jivlal Baduwal of Aathbis Municipality-9 is preparing to return to the municipality in the coming Bhadau after completing his MBBS from Kathmandu University. Seeing the problem that doctors who came from outside did not stay long, he also decided to become a doctor and serve in his own village. His dream is coming true after the municipality provided financial support in line with his thinking. So far, 27.77 million rupees have been spent on Jivlal's studies, of which 75 percent was borne by the municipality. 'The municipality has created an environment where young people like me can also dream of becoming a doctor,' he says, 'Now I will do good work by staying here.'
The municipality is also educating nurses Sunita Kumari Thapa and Parbati Kumari Sijapati at a cost of 356 thousand rupees each and HA Kamal Majhi at a cost of 300 thousand rupees, informed Chief Administrative Officer Binod Kumar Majhi. According to him, a total of 66 lakh 60 thousand rupees have been spent on scholarships so far. 'We have invested, now it depends on their actions to see what the return on that investment will be,' he said.
Similarly, Chhayanath Rara Municipality of Mugu is providing scholarships to 21 people, including doctors, chartered accountants, HAs and engineers, in various fields. Kamna Malla of the same municipality is currently a lieutenant colonel in the Nepali Army. Stating that the municipality provided Rs 600,000 during her MBBS studies, she said that even a small support from the local level can boost morale. After completing her MBBS, she worked in the district until 2081. ‘Although it cost me Rs 400,000 while studying MBBS, the support provided by the municipality during that time was great,’ she said. ‘For students like us, the scholarship also helps to keep morale high.’ She said that she has already worked in Mugu as per the investment made by the municipality. According to Kamana, the support of the local government has been a great relief for those who are good in studies but cannot study due to poor financial condition.
According to the mayor of the city, Bishnu Kumar Bham, the local government has adopted a policy of producing its own human resources to solve the problem of doctors not coming from outside or not being able to stay. In this regard, Devikrishna Bishwakarma is currently in the final year of her medical education studies in Bangladesh. It is expected that this effort by the local level will produce skilled human resources in the village and strengthen health services in the long term.
Similarly, Jyotsana Karki of Kushe Rural Municipality in Jajarkot is studying her final year of MBBS at Patan Hospital. She, who was unable to study due to financial constraints despite repeatedly submitting her name, said that getting support from the local level was unthinkable. “The village council has fulfilled my dream, now I will also fulfill the dream of the village council,” she said. The village council chair Harishchandra Basnet informed that Jyotsana has been provided Rs 3.8 million for MBBS studies by establishing the Kushe Rural Municipality First Chairperson Scholarship Fund. Two people from Barekot Rural Municipality in Jajarkot are also studying on MBBS scholarships.
Nitesh Poudel of Lekbesi Municipality-1 is currently in the final stages of his MBBS studies. He has completed four years of study at the School of Medical Sciences of Kathmandu University and is now preparing to return to the municipality after completing his studies within a year. The municipality has borne Rs 4.131 million for Nitesh’s education and hostel expenses, while it has also spent Rs 3.1 million for the studies of another student, Bhupendra Dhakal. ‘The municipality provided me with a full scholarship because my study results were excellent,’ says Nitesh. ‘When we start encouraging not only students with weak financial conditions but also students who study well, everyone develops the habit of working hard.’ He said that since he met the criteria set by the municipality, his dream of becoming a doctor and being selected for the scholarship is about to come true.
‘As a mark of respect for the support provided by the municipality, I will stay and serve here after my studies and fulfill the agreement made with the municipality,’ he said. ‘After making such a huge investment, there is no problem in working in my own municipality for at least two years. It is even more satisfying to be able to stay and serve in my own village.’ According to Mayor Umesh Poudel, while providing scholarships, candidates are selected on the basis of scores. According to him, the municipality has made arrangements to select the applicant who scores the highest in the MBBS entrance exam for the scholarship. Lekbesi Municipality has spent Rs 7.231 lakh for two students to study MBBS. The municipality has decided to provide MBBS scholarships to one person every year until 2084/85. The condition is that after studying, they must serve in the municipality for at least two years. In Karnali, the local level has started producing employees with its own investment after the municipality refused to hire employees from various sectors. In Karnali, which is geographically remote, the local level has started producing employees on its own. It had trained doctors, engineers, and staff nurses and distributed scholarships to serve in its own municipality.
