Nepal is a low-income nation with a population of nearly 26·5 million. The doctor–patient ratio is 0·17 per 1000 population—substantially less than the WHO recommendation of 2·3 doctors per 1000 population.1 Nepal has seen a burgeoning of medical institutes in the past 10 years. However, this rapid surge in the number of medical colleges—with increases in fees and corruption involved in student admissions—has not aided undergraduate and postgraduate medical training, deteriorating the quality of medical education.2 The financial motives involved in these private medical colleges have further incurred political meddling, often resulting in disproportionate and unregulated licensing and affiliation to such colleges, which are not instructed to establish themselves in rural areas.