Nursing admission: Managements refuse to surrender 50% of seats to govt

Thiruvananthapuram: In protest against the Health Department’s unilateral decision to conduct admissions to the BSc Nursing course, nursing college management associations in Kerala have decided not to surrender 50 per cent of their seats to the government.

Usually, the government invites applications for BSc Nursing programmes only after holding due consultations with representatives of the management associations. Since there are no formal agreements currently in place between the government and the management associations regarding the allotment of 50 per cent merit seats in private colleges, the managements argue that such a move requires a prior agreement.

About a month ago, representatives of various management associations met Health Minister Veena George, requesting a formal discussion. Although the minister forwarded the associations’ letter to Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Rajan Khobragade, no follow-up action has been taken since.

According to Ayira Shashi, V Saji, and Fr Vimal Francis, office bearers of the associations, several key issues remain unresolved and require open dialogue. One major concern raised by the managements is the need for a fee revision, to which the government has yet to respond.

The state has also invited applications for the course despite a directive from the Indian Nursing Council (INC) mandating the conduct of an entrance test for admissions. For the past few years, Kerala has been assuring the INC that it would implement the entrance exam from the following academic year. However, once again this year, the state has decided against conducting the test. As per procedure, the government is required to formally communicate this decision to the INC and seek prior approval.

In addition, the Kerala Nursing Council and the Kerala University of Health Sciences have not yet conducted the mandatory inspections in several nursing colleges prior to granting affiliation.

Of the total 9,883 nursing seats available in the state, 7,613 are in private colleges.