Sreemoyee Chatterjee| TNN | May 14, 2016, 07.10 AM IST
BENGALURU: Of the 322 nursing institutes sanctioned by the Karnataka government in 2007-08, only 280 institutes have applied for affiliation this year to admit new students, leaving 42 institutes non-functional for this academic year, records of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) show.
Karnataka boasts of the highest number of nursing institutes in the country, but there has been a consistent dip in the number of students applying each year, leading to 42 institutes going without a single student this year, say various stakeholders in nursing education.
Dr Riyaz Basha, deputy registrar, RGUHS, said: "To continue admitting students every year in the three nursing courses -Bachelor of Science (BSc), Master of Science (MSc) and Post Certificate Bachelor of Science (PC BSc) -the sanctioned institutes have to renew their university affiliation by applying for it."
"The university conducts an inspection and sends a report to the academic council, which decides who will give the permit.This year, we got applications from 280 institutes.The remaining 42 will, therefore, not be allowed to admit students for this acade mic year," he added.
Working nurses, students and experts dealing with nursing education blamed the situation on poor infrastructure, lack of faculty , low pay scales and awareness among students about the profession.
"When I applied for a job at city hospitals, I was turned down by most as I did not pass out from a quality institute, though I had paid about Rs 3 lakh for the degree. I got a job after going door to door, and I am paid peanuts. I have dissuaded my sister from joining my profession, though I'm proud of my service towards ailing people," said a nurse who joined a city hospital last year. Many colleges have been asked to shut down because of inadequate infras tructure and lack of clinical experi ence of the faculty. Hospitals in other states are not ready to employ nurses from any institute. Apart from premier institutes like Nimhans, students are not provided quality education everywhere. So most students opt for a few reputed institutes and the colleges without quality infrastructure don't get students," said Sailaxmi Gandhi, associate professor, department of nursing in Nimhans.
"A low pay scale is also responsible for not attracting students. Although Nimhans gives a good pay package, salaries in other hospitals are very low. While nursing homes pay only Rs 2,000, private hospitals pay Rs 8,000-Rs 13,000," she pointed out.
Ivan Nigli, former MLA and chairman of the Anglo Indian Unity Centre, said: "Students are hardly aware about nursing institutes as they are never promoted like engineering or MBA. There is an urgent need to promote this profession at all levels."
"The pay scale should be increased. The government should appoint one nurse in every school to give a boost to this community," Nigli added.
"Now that Kerala has its own nursing institutes and hospitals, students prefer to stay there. Karnataka institutes have seen a major dip in admissions to its colleges," said Sailaxmi Gandh, associate
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