Dr. Suryaman Menyangbo has been appointed Vice-Chancellor of the Karnali Academy of Health Sciences (KAHS) in Jumla, following the same open competitive selection process that filled leadership vacancies at Patan Academy of Health Sciences and four other government health science academies. The appointment closes out a leadership vacancy at KAHS that opened when the government removed its previous Vice-Chancellor under a nationwide ordinance in May 2026 and it is Dr. Manyangbo's second time in the running for the post, having been a finalist for the same job the year before.
| New Vice-Chancellor | Associate. Professor. Dr. Suryaman Menyangbo |
| Selection process | Open competition run jointly across 6 health science academies (Karnali, Patan, NAMS, Pokhara, Rapti, BPKIHS Dharan); interviews for Karnali candidates held Asar 17, 2083 (July 1, 2026), a day after the other academies |
| Outgoing VC | Dr. Pujan Kumar Rokaya (appointed August 14, 2025; removed by ordinance, May 2, 2026) |
| Caretaker leadership | Assoc. Prof. Dr. Binamra Bista, appointed Acting Director around Baisakh 24, 2083 (May 7, 2026) |
Who is Suryaman Menyangbo, and why is this his second run at the job
Dr. Menyangbo was already working at the Karnali Academy of Health Sciences before this appointment; he heads the academy's Department of Surgery, according to KAHS's own faculty listing. He first came close to the Vice-Chancellorship in mid-2025, when a three-member recommendation committee drawn from within the academy itself shortlisted three internal candidates for the vacant VC post: Dr. Pujan Kumar Rokaya, Dr. Dwal Bahadur Dhami, and Dr. Menyangbo. That round ultimately went to Dr. Rokaya, who was appointed VC on August 14, 2025, alongside new VCs at three other health science academies in a selection process that Nepali media at the time described as being shaped by party-political allocation among the governing coalition.
With Dr. Rokaya's removal under the May 2026 ordinance and the subsequent open, merit-based competition, Dr. Menyangbo has now succeeded where he fell short a year earlier.
Selection process: a joint competition across six health science academies
KAHS's Vice-Chancellor post was filled through a joint process covering six government health science academies; Karnali, Patan, the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS), Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences, Rapti Academy of Health Sciences, and B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in Dharan under the "Integrated Procedure for the Selection and Recommendation of Vice-Chancellors of Health Science Academies, 2083."
- Applications were invited around Jestha 4, 2083, drawing 113 applications across all six academies.
- A Selection and Recommendation Committee, formed under Minister of Health and Food Safety Nisha Mehta, shortlisted candidates for interview from each academy.
- Interviews and presentations for Patan, NAMS, Pokhara, and BPKIHS candidates were held on Asar 16, 2083; Karnali's candidates along with Rapti's were interviewed the following morning, Asar 17.
- From the shortlisted names, the Council of Ministers appointed one candidate per academy to the Vice-Chancellor post.
The predecessor: how the previous leadership left
Dr. Pujan Kumar Rokaya was appointed KAHS's Vice-Chancellor on August 14, 2025, one of four health science academy VCs sworn in together before then-Prime Minister and Chancellor KP Sharma Oli. Nepali media coverage at the time reported that the four appointments at Karnali, Patan, Pokhara, and B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences had been divided along party-political lines among the governing coalition, with Karnali and B.P. Koirala going to candidates aligned with the Nepali Congress.
His tenure ended under the "Special Arrangement for Removal of Public Office-Holders Ordinance, 2083," issued on Baisakh 20, 2083 alongside a parallel ordinance amending laws governing Health Science Academies. The ordinance removed VCs, Rectors, and Registrars across all six government health science academies nationwide in a single action; at KAHS specifically, this meant the removal of Dr. Rokaya as VC, Dr. Dwal Bahadur Dhami as Rector, and the academy's Registrar.
The Ministry of Health and Population subsequently assigned Assoc. Prof. Dr. Binamra Bista as Acting Director at KAHS around Baisakh 24, 2083, to keep the academy running through the roughly ten-week open-competition process that has now concluded with Dr. Menyangbo's appointment.
About Karnali Academy of Health Sciences
KAHS was established in 2068 BS (2011), upgraded from the former Karnali Zonal Hospital, with a mandate to expand access to quality health services and medical education across Karnali and the far-western hill and mountain districts including Humla, Jumla, Kalikot, Dolpa, Mugu, Bajhang, Bajura, Achham, Surkhet, Dailekh, Rukum, and Salyan. It is one of Nepal's more remote and resource-constrained health science institutions, making stable, credible leadership especially consequential for the rural communities it serves.
