Karnali Academy of Health Sciences (KAHS)

Karnali Academy of Health Sciences (KAHS) is an autonomous statutory health-sciences academy headquartered in Jumla, Karnali Province, Nepal. It was established under the Karnali Academy of Health Sciences Act, 2068, authenticated on 3 Kartik 2068 (20 October 2011). Its institutional responsibilities cover health-sciences education, research, development of health professionals, clinical training, and health-service delivery.

KAHS is a degree-awarding academy, not an affiliating university. Its legal framework does not permit the Academy to grant affiliation to outside educational institutions. Academic programs are conducted through its constituent schools in medicine, nursing and midwifery, public health, and pharmacy.

Quick Highlights

Establishment and Legal Status

The Karnali Academy of Health Sciences Act, 2068 establishes KAHS in Jumla as a self-governing institution with perpetual succession. Its statutory responsibilities connect higher-level health-sciences education and research with the preparation of skilled health personnel and the delivery of health services in underserved areas.

KAHS has authority to conduct academic programs and award qualifications through its own institutional structure. This degree-awarding role is separate from affiliation.

Section 30 of the Act prohibits the Academy from granting affiliation to another educational institution. The schools and programs operating under KAHS are therefore constituent parts of the Academy rather than external affiliated colleges.

Statutory Service Area

The KAHS Act identifies nine districts within its statutory definition of the “backward area”:

• Humla

• Dolpa

• Mugu

• Kalikot

• Jumla

• Jajarkot

• Bajura

• Bajhang

• Achham

These districts extend across present-day provincial boundaries. The Academy's statutory geographic mandate is therefore broader than Karnali Province alone.

Its location in Jumla places its academic, clinical, and research functions within an area directly connected with the purpose established by the Act.

Academic Structure and Programs

KAHS conducts health-sciences education through four academic schools:

• School of Medicine

• School of Nursing and Midwifery

• School of Public Health

• School of Pharmacy

Undergraduate and postgraduate programs cover medicine, nursing, midwifery, public health, and pharmacy.

School of Medicine

The School of Medicine conducts undergraduate medical education through the MBBS program and postgraduate medical education through MD/MS-related fields.

The MBBS program runs for five and a half years. It consists of four and a half years of academic study followed by one year of compulsory rotating internship. Its curriculum includes integrated, community-based, and clinically oriented learning, with attention to medical practice in remote and hilly settings.

Postgraduate medical education covers fields including:

• General practice and emergency medicine

• Anaesthesiology

• Orthopaedics

• Paediatrics

• Obstetrics and gynaecology

• Medicine

• Surgery

• Anatomy

School of Nursing and Midwifery

The School of Nursing and Midwifery conducts undergraduate and postgraduate education in nursing and midwifery.

Its programs include:

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.Sc. Nursing) — four academic years

• Bachelor in Nursing Science (BNS) — three academic years

• Bachelor in Midwifery — minimum three academic years, including internship

• Master in Nursing (MN) — minimum two academic years

These programs place nursing and midwifery education within the Academy's wider health-sciences and clinical environment.

School of Public Health

The School of Public Health conducts the Bachelor of Public Health and Master in Public Health programs.

The Bachelor of Public Health is structured over four years and includes practical exposure within the academic program.

The Master in Public Health is a two-year program organized across four semesters. It carries 60 credit hours and includes coursework, practical work, seminars, and research.

School of Pharmacy

The School of Pharmacy conducts undergraduate and postgraduate education through the Bachelor of Pharmacy and Master of Pharmacy programs.

The Bachelor of Pharmacy is a four-year undergraduate program. The Master of Pharmacy is a two-year postgraduate program.

Admission and Entrance Process

Admission to medical and health-professional programs covered by Nepal's centralized medical-education system follows the Medical Education Commission's entrance, matching, seat-allocation, and admission procedures.

The admission framework applies to academic matters such as:

• Entrance procedures

• Matching and seat allocation

• Program admission

• Enrollment and reporting procedures

KAHS academic programs operate within this medical-education admission structure where applicable.

Teaching Hospital and Clinical Role

The teaching hospital is part of the Academy's statutory structure. Section 16 of the Karnali Academy of Health Sciences Act provides for a hospital connected with higher study, research, and health services and treats the former Karnali Zonal Hospital as the hospital established under the Academy.

The former zonal hospital began operating as Karnali Academy of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital from 17 Kartik 2069 BS.

The teaching hospital connects academic education with clinical learning and health-service responsibilities. Clinical departments associated with KAHS include areas such as:

• General practice and emergency medicine

• Anaesthesiology

• General surgery

• Obstetrics and gynaecology

• Internal medicine

• Orthopaedics

• Paediatrics

This academic and clinical relationship forms part of KAHS's institutional structure rather than an external affiliation arrangement.

Research and Academic Publication

Research is included within KAHS's statutory and academic responsibilities.

The Academy maintains an Institutional Review Committee for research ethics and research-proposal review. This provides an institutional mechanism for ethical review of research activities.

KAHS is also associated with the Journal of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences as an academic publication platform. Research therefore sits alongside education, clinical training, and health services within the Academy's institutional functions.

Governance and Degree-Awarding Role

KAHS has a governance structure established under the Karnali Academy of Health Sciences Act.

The Act provides for institutional bodies including:

• Senate

• Academic Council

Its governance functions cover academic programs, examinations, degrees, certificates, scholarships, research, and administration.

KAHS's authority to award degrees and certificates does not make it an affiliating institution. Its constituent schools operate within the Academy, while external educational institutions cannot receive affiliation from KAHS.

Location and Contact

Karnali Academy of Health Sciences is headquartered in Jumla, Karnali Province, Nepal. It also maintains a contact office at Maitidevi, Setopool, Kathmandu.