Prof. Dr. Bibek Acharya has been appointed Vice-Chancellor of the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS), based at Bir Hospital in Kathmandu. The appointment ends a roughly ten-week caretaker period at NAMS that began when the academy's previous Vice-Chancellor and other senior office-holders were removed under a nationwide ordinance in May 2026.
| New Vice-Chancellor | Prof. Dr. Bibek Acharya |
| Selection process | Open competition run jointly across 6 health science academies; 24 applications accepted for NAMS; interviews held Asar 16, 2083 |
| Outgoing VC | Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Basnet (removed by ordinance, May 2, 2026) |
| Caretaker leadership | Assoc. Prof. Dr. Prabha Chapagain Koirala, Acting Director |
Background: who is Bibek Acharya?
Prof. Dr. Acharya was already a senior member of NAMS's own faculty before this appointment according to the academy's official doctor listing, he is Chief Consultant Radiation Oncologist and Head of the Department of Clinical Oncology at NAMS, where he also serves as Residency Program Coordinator. As with several other appointments in this round, his selection continues the pattern of long-serving departmental heads already embedded in the institution winning out through open competition.
Selection process: a joint competition across six health science academies
NAMS's Vice-Chancellor post was filled through the same joint process covering six government health science academies — NAMS, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS), Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences, Rapti Academy of Health Sciences, and Karnali Academy of Health Sciences — under the "Integrated Procedure for the Selection and Recommendation of Vice-Chancellors of Health Science Academies, 2083."
- Applications were invited around Jestha 4, 2083 (May 18, 2026). Of 113 applications received across all six academies, 24 were for the NAMS post — the second-largest applicant pool of the six academies, after Pokhara's.
- A shortlist of 86 candidates across all six academies was published on Asar 2, 2083 (June 16, 2026).
- Eligibility required at least a postgraduate degree in a medical field, plus a minimum of 10 years' experience as a professor (or equivalent senior grade) at a health science academy, university, or teaching hospital.
- Interviews and presentations for NAMS candidates were held on Asar 16, 2083 (June 30, 2026), the same day as Patan, Pokhara, and BPKIHS; Karnali and Rapti candidates were interviewed a day later.
- A Selection and Recommendation Committee, formed under Minister of Health and Food Safety, Nisha Mehta, forwarded a shortlist of names to the Council of Ministers for final appointment.
The predecessor: how the previous leadership left
NAMS's outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Basnet, was removed from office under the "Special Arrangement for Removal of Public Office-Holders Ordinance, 2083," issued on Baisakh 20, 2083 (May 2, 2026) alongside a parallel ordinance amending laws governing Health Science Academies. Under the National Academy of Medical Sciences Act, 2063, this removed 22 office-holders at NAMS in a single action, including Rector Dr. Lochan Karki, Registrar Dr. Gyanendra Shah, and Dean Dr. Ashesh Dhungana alongside the Vice-Chancellor himself.
The Ministry of Health and Population subsequently assigned Assoc. Prof. Dr. Prabha Chapagain Koirala as Acting Director at NAMS to keep the academy running through the open-competition process that has now concluded with Dr. Acharya's appointment. NAMS's own website continued to list Dr. Koirala as Acting Director at the time of writing, consistent with the appointment being very recent.
A note on NAMS
The National Academy of Medical Sciences, headquartered at Bir Hospital, is built around Nepal's oldest hospital — established in 1889 — and describes itself as the country's first trauma centre under the Department of Health Services. It offers DM/MCh super-specialty programmes, MD/MS/MDS postgraduate degrees, and nursing and allied health science courses, drawing on a network of affiliated hospitals across Kathmandu including Bir Hospital, Kanti Children's Hospital, Maternity Hospital, and others.
