The Hindu : Uncertainty over admissions to new nursing colleges

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 09, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Uncertainty over admissions to new nursing colleges

By J.Ajeth Kumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, FEB. 8. Even as the State Government has sanctioned five more colleges of nursing in the current academic year, the admission of students to these colleges remains uncertain, with the validity of the rank-lists having expired on November 30 last.

The Government, as per an order issued on January 8, 2004, had sanctioned nursing colleges attached to the MGM Muthoot Medical Centre, Kozhencherry, the Mother Hospital Private Limited, Thrissur, the St. John's Hospital, Kattappana, and the San Joe Hospital, Perumbavoor. Another order was issued on January 12 sanctioning a college of nursing for the St. Greorios Mission Hospital, Parumala, Pathanamthitta. Each college would have 50 seats each, taking the total number of seats to 250.

According to both these orders, sanction had been accorded to the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations (CEE) to allot 50 per cent of students to the five self-financing colleges from the merit list prepared on the basis of the entrance examination conducted in April 2003, so as to enable the managements to start the classes during the current academic year itself. The condition was that these institutions would levy fees only as per the Government rate. The order meant that 125 students would get admission for the nursing degree course on the basis of merit.

However, to avoid delay in the starting of courses, the CEE had, with prior sanction from the Government, fixed November 30, 2003, as the last date for conducting admissions to the professional colleges. Accordingly, the validity of all the professional rank-lists had expired on that date. It may be recalled that last year, the admission to professional courses had been delayed inordinately to the extent that the last of it was effected around the end of May 2003.

Since the Government Order sanctioning the five new colleges came much later, unless the Government revalidated the rank-lists, it would not be possible to effect admissions to them during the current year, according to CEE sources. The managements of these colleges, however, have been exerting pressure on the CEE to provide them a list of rank holders from which they could make the admissions, straight away. The CEE, however, has another constraint; the Kerala High Court, through a recent verdict, had directed the CEE not to admit students to professional colleges after commencement of classes, unless the course period left for the first year or first semester was sufficient for the students to gain the minimum percentage of attendance with reference to the total number of working days for writing the examination. It has been specified that a minimum of 80 per cent of attendance would be required for the candidate to be eligible to appear for the examination of the first year or first semester.

The CEE has written to the Department of Health about his inability to make admissions to the five newly sanctioned colleges of nursing in the absence of a valid rank list and also because the major part of the current academic year has now been completed. It is understood that the CEE has not been approached by any student in the rank list, which has by now become invalid, for admission to the nursing course in the newly sanctioned colleges.

The student who was last admitted to the nursing course in the general merit category this year had secured rank number 13,706 and the rank of the last candidate belonging to the reservation categories was 36,047.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala