Tribhuvan University, the oldest university of Nepal, says it will soon introduce a provision to ensure that its students, professors and staff get health facilities at heavily subsidised rates.
TU is already providing the facility to its professors, students and staff who can avail health services at TU Teaching Hospital at 50 per cent discount.
But with the introduction of the new provision, they will enjoy 90 per cent discount at all government hospitals and health facilities across the country.
Prof Hira Bahadur Maharjan of Tribhuvan University and Shanta Bahadur Shrestha, secretary, Ministry of Health and Population, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to this effect.
According to the MoU, students, professors and staff at TU will be entitled to get 90 per cent discount while receiving medical services from government hospitals throughout the country.
Bishnu Aryal, chief of Vice Chancellor’s Office, TU, told this daily that this service is first of its kind in Nepal. “TU will be providing health facilities at subsidised rates,” he said, adding that MoHP has taken the TU move positively. “The 90 per cent cost of treatment will be later reimbursed to respective health institutions by the university through Ministry of Health and Population,” he added. Aryal informed that TU is also going to establish a Health Treatment Fund to provide cost of treatment of students, professors and staff to government hospitals across the country.
Students of different programmes in semester system, under Tribhuvan University, will be mandated to make a non-refundable contribution of Rs 500 each year to the HTF while the amount to be contributed by professors and staff is yet to be decided. TU has already reached an agreement with student unions to this effect.
Currently, TU is preparing a list of names of eligible students, professors and staff who can enjoy the facility.There are 15,000 teachers and staff and around 150,000 students in TU’s constituent campuses. “We are going to prepare a software with database of students, teachers and staff to avoid misuse of facility,” he added.He further said that such provision would be helpful for students, teachers and staff in cases of medical emergency such as accidents and other injuries.
