It is curtains for the college of nursing, physiotherapy and medical laboratory technician course at the self-financing teaching centre in Thevara under the University College of Medical Education of M.G. University.
Senior official in the University told The Hindu that since there had been no fresh admission to nursing courses this year too and only six students have joined for physiotherapy course (BPT), the college will be closed soon and two batches of nursing students and other courses would be shifted to the Angamaly centre of the UCME.
Kerala Nursing Council had withheld admission to the college on account of the rundown building and lack of facilities. The university, in spite of assurances to the Council, had not taken any steps to improve the facilities. A senior nursing faculty member in the university told The Hindu that the building owner had also asked the university to vacate the college to another premises.
Though the students are likely to be shifted to the Angamaly centre, admission to this college has also been withheld for the year by the nursing council.
Last year too, no nursing students were admitted here while the six students taken in for bachelor of physiotherapy were sent to the Thevara centre. The only course offered last year was Medical Laboratory Technician course in which 32 out of 35 seats were filled up. The university officials are hopeful that the nursing council will allow admission to the centre at the Council meeting coming up later in the month.
The students and faculty in all the self-financing centres of the University College of Medical Education would be wearing black badges on Wednesday to protest against the university’s total lack of support for these centres.
The Angamaly centre set up in 1995 is continuing to function in a rented four-storeyed building paying Rs. 2 lakh to the Angamaly Municipality. Though 6.5 acres of revenue land under the Irrigation department had been identified to set up a new building, there were still a few glitches to be ironed out and the most difficult one was the University syndicate’s approval, said a senior official.
The Angamaly centre has a faculty comprising two Assistant Professors and 14 M.Sc-qualification lecturers and 12 B.Sc-qualification lecturers. There is a vacancy of five associate professors. A senior faculty member said the M.Sc lecturers with three years of experience can be made associate professors, but the university does not take nursing colleges as priority to rectify the anomalies pointed out by nursing council.
The faculty members believe that the go-slow attitude of the University only helps private colleges, which is struggling to fill up seats.
Sister Gilbert, president of Trained Nurses Association of India and also senior faculty who was associated with the Thevara centre for some time, told The Hindu that the University had failed to plough back the funds received as fees to upgrade the self financing colleges in the nursing sector.
