The special ordinance on the dismissal of public officials issued by the President has mandated the removal of officials from nearly two dozen regulatory bodies. Officials from entities such as the Nepal Nursing Council, Nepal Health Professional Council, Engineering Council, Veterinary Council, and Nepal Pharmacy Council are set to be dismissed. All officials from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Disappearance Investigation Commission, Teacher Service Commission, and Information Commission will also lose their positions.
Dated 20 Baishakh, Kathmandu — According to the ‘Special Ordinance on the Dismissal of Public Officials, 2083’ released by the President’s Office on Saturday, approximately two dozen officials from regulatory bodies and commissions are to vacate their posts. The ordinance primarily mandates the dismissal of officials from professional regulatory councils. However, the Nepal Bar Council, chaired by the Attorney General, remains exempt from this amendment.
The ordinance specifies the removal of officials from eight key regulatory bodies. These include the Nepal Nursing Council regulating nursing professionals, the Nepal Health Professional Council overseeing health practitioners, and the Engineering Council responsible for regulating engineers. Similarly, officials from the Veterinary Council regulating veterinary doctors, the Nepal Pharmacy Council and Ayurveda Medicine Council overseeing pharmacists, pharmacies, and Ayurvedic practitioners will also be removed.
Officials from the Nepal Medical Council regulating doctors and the Nepal Press Council regulating journalists are likewise affected. Dozens of other bodies involved in professional, economic, and service sector regulation will also see their officials dismissed. This includes the Telecommunications Authority, which regulates internet and telecom service providers, and the Securities Board overseeing capital markets and stock trading, both of which will become headless.
The Civil Aviation Authority, regulating the aviation sector, will also lose its officials. The Dairy Development Board, responsible for facilitating milk producers and regulating dairy activities, is included in the list of bodies facing official dismissals. The University Grants Commission, overseeing and financially supporting higher education institutions, will also become vacant of officials.
Officials from the Electricity Regulatory Commission, which regulates the supply of electric services, will be automatically dismissed. The Cooperative Authority, Advertising Board, and Insurance Authority, responsible respectively for regulating cooperatives, advertisement management, and insurance companies, are also part of this dismissal list. The Film Censorship Committee, which reviews movies, will similarly lose its officials.
The ordinance stipulates the dismissal of officials from five commissions, including the Medical Education Commission, which manages the regulation and seat allocation of medical colleges. Officials from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Disappearance Investigation Commission, which investigate human rights violations during the decade-long Maoist conflict, are also to be dismissed. Likewise, the Teacher Service Commission responsible for appointing teachers in community schools across the country, and the Information Commission, formed to implement citizens’ right to information, will lose all their officials.
