Fate of 147 nursing colleges hangs in balance in Odisha?

Does the fate of 147 nursing colleges in Odisha hang in balance? Such a question has now cropped up after the Directorate of Medical Education And Training (DMET) cancelled the No Objection Certificate (NOC) of 147 Auxiliary Nursing Midwifery (ANM), General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) colleges in the state.

The DMET has reportedly swung into action mode following the guidelines issued by the Indian Nursing Council. The move has created a flutter. At the same time, questions are being raised about whether the nursing institutes in Odisha have flouted the existing guidelines of the Indian Nursing Council.

Take the case of Gayatri Nursing College in Balasore. Here 120 students are admitted into ANM and GNM courses. However, dust has settled on the existing fire safety measures. Similar is the case with Balasore College of Nursing at Nilagiri. DMET has cancelled the NOC and not renewed its registration owing to a lack of fire safety measures. However, the authorities have termed the action by DMET as one-sided despite having all the required measures.

Not only Balasore, the DMET has cancelled the NOC of 14 nursing colleges in Mayurbhanj district.

Kalpana Das, director of Gayatri Nursing College Baripada said, “There is no fake certificate which was issued to us and we have complied with it. It is not a big issue and whenever we get any new guideline, we comply with it.”

Jayant Mohapatra, an official of Balasore College of Nursing College said, “All physical works have been completed. The students' future is secure. The notice was issued on July 7 and it will be regularised after we submit the required documents. We have already installed fire safety measures.

What Guidelines Say….

Nursing educational institutions should be in Institutional areas only and not in residential areas.

If the institute has non-nursing programme in the same building, the Nursing programme should have a separate teaching block. Adequate provision for extinguishing fire should be available as per the local bye-laws.

The nursing educational institutes should have permanent lecturers and principals. It has been found that 147 nursing colleges were functioning in Odisha for years together with the help of fake documents.

After the Council’s guidelines, the DMET has cancelled the NOC of such institutes due to a lack of adequate documents. However, DMET Director clarified that the students pursuing nursing courses will not have any problem in the state.

Director DMET Prof. Santosh Mishra said, “There would be no problem to the students who are studying now. Some have not got NOC but college registration has not been cancelled."