New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram: The Indian Nursing Council has warned Kerala for reluctance to hold entrance test for admissions to the BSc Nursing course in government and self-financing colleges this year.
"If Kerala decides not to hold an entrance test for admission to BSc Nursing programmes, ignoring the direction in this regard, it may adversely affect the future of students joining the course," the Council cautioned.
"Such a situation may lead to the cancellation of students’ registration and denial of job opportunities," the national-level regulatory body further stated.
The state is yet to officially convey its plan whether to conduct the entrance test this year. The Council will make clear its stance as soon as Kerala clarifies its position on the matter. Further actions in this direction will be initiated once the state communicates its response to the NCI’s stance.
Had the state pointed out that there was no adequate time to hold the examination, the Council would have extended the deadline, noted a Council member. It is the responsibility of the Council to ensure the academic standard of students joining nursing programmes by holding the entrance test.
The Supreme Court too has taken a similar stance on the issue. Indeed, Kerala used to conduct entrance examinations for BSc Nursing from 1983 to 2007. Other states, including Karnataka, which have come under the scanner for irregularities in nursing admissions, have decided to hold the entrance test this time.
Health Dept allays fears
Meanwhile, officials with the state Health Department have asserted that the decision not to hold the entrance test will not affect the course approval. The Indian Nursing Council will soon be informed of the state’s willingness to conduct entrance tests from the next academic year onwards.
There will be no situation in which those completing the course will be denied approval. For, it is for the State Nursing Council to accord approval for the course and carry out the registration of students. The Indian Nursing Council is naturally bound to postpone the conduct of the entrance test for one year.
The Indian Nursing Council had directed to conduct the entrance test on June 15 and complete the admission proceedings by September 30. It is of the view that the conduct of entrance tests will help in the effective implementation of the merit and reservation norms.
CPM-linked institutions oppose entrance test
The State authorities were reportedly asked by various managements of nursing colleges to ignore the Council directive. The colleges include those under the CPM’s control.
The cooperative institutions that are under the party’s control currently run about 10 nursing colleges. The 20 institutions that parted ways with the Private Self-Financing Management Association, too, do not favour the conduct of entrance tests. The decision comes even as the CPM and the SFI are consistently making calls against attempts to sabotage merit and reservation norms.
(The SFI or the Students' Federation of India is an outfit of the CPM.)
Presently, admissions to 50 percent of the seats are carried out by the State Government, while the remaining 50 percent of seats, including the 15 percent quota for NRIs, are filled by the managements of respective institutions. The private Christian management associations conduct admissions by inviting general applications to the 50 percent seats allotted to them and publishing a list by holding an entrance test.
The colleges under the CPM control, and the managements that oppose the stance of the Management Association, are conducting the admissions on their own.