The government nursing school started in Bidar this year is yet to attract students.
The general nursing midwife training centre, that awards diplomas to students after three years of training, has 100 seats. However, the district Health and Family Welfare office that handles admissions has received only around 20 applications till now. The last date to register is August 8 and classes start in September.
Low level of awareness about this course and delay in starting the course are among the reasons for fewer students choosing it, say health department sources. “Not having a centralised admission system like the Karnataka examination authority for professional graduate courses may be another reason for the low level of interest,” said a senior officer.
The college will function at the GNM centre in the district hospital, attached to the Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences. The district administration has sent detailed plans to build a set of classrooms above the existing building and a new hostel. For now, theory classes will be conducted in the medical college and practical training will be provided in the district hospital.
In 2015, the state government decided to upgrade six assistant nursing midwife centres in the districts into government nursing schools and issued relevant orders for Bidar. The Nursing Council of India and Karnataka Nursing Council concluded their inspections and sanctioned 100 seats for Bidar, the highest among the new colleges in 2016. Ten of the 100 seats are reserved for Asha workers and another 10 for in -service nurses. The school will admit five boys too.
There is no course fee and each student will be paid a monthly stipend of Rs. 1,500. The course is residential and students have to stay on the campus. The mess would be run by the students, who can divide the expenses among themselves.
We are taking steps to create awareness about the course, says Rajkumar Malge, principal. We have written letters to principals of Pre University colleges to tell their students about it, he said. Mr. Malge recently interacted with students of the Shaheen PU College. We told students about the huge employment potential for nurses, said Mr. Malge.
“Middle class parents try their best to admit their children in MBBS courses. But if their wards fail to get admission to Allopathy, they send them to homeopathy or Ayurveda. They rarely think of para-medical courses like nursing or pathological laboratories, Mr. Malge said. According to him, job opportunities for nurses are many. It is also deeply satisfying as nurses are highly respected for their service to patients,” he said.
Application forms are available online at www. http://karhfw.gov.in/. Filled forms should be submitted to the district health and family welfare office where they are sorted based on merit and reservation. Short listed students will be sent admission letters, Mr. Malge said.
