KATHMANDU: Education and Sports Minister Sasmit Pokharel has said the government is positive about the demands raised by senior orthopedic surgeon and medical education reform campaigner Dr. Govinda KC, who has been on a hunger strike in Dhangadhi since Thursday.

On Friday evening, Pokharel held a telephone conversation with Dr. Amrit Jaishi, a close aide to Dr. KC, after being unable to speak directly with the fasting doctor, who was resting at the time.

According to Dr. Jaishi, the minister said the government was prepared to hold formal negotiations and was in the process of forming a dialogue team.

“The minister personally called to convey that the government is positive about addressing Dr. KC’s demands and that preparations are underway to form a negotiation team. He also said the ministry’s secretariat is reviewing the demands,” Dr. Jaishi said.

During the conversation, Dr. Jaishi briefed the minister on Dr. KC’s five-point demand, highlighting key priorities. He said the government must approve staffing for a 300-bed hospital under Shahid Dasharath Chand University of Health Sciences and bring it into operation within the current fiscal year, begin medical education classes from the current academic session, and dismiss office bearers appointed through what he described as conflict-of-interest-driven decisions.

Dr. KC began his hunger strike on Thursday at the Krishna Temple Dharamshala in Dhangadhi.

His broader demands include scrapping what he calls illegal appointments at the Medical Education Commission and Shahid Dasharath Chand University of Health Sciences, reversing scholarship cuts and proposed seat increases at private medical colleges lacking adequate standards, implementing the National Medical Education Act’s non-profit provisions, expanding essential public services in Sudurpashchim and other border regions, and taking legal action against those responsible for violent incidents in September 2025 as well as corruption involving senior political leaders and public officials.