Karnataka: Recently, Dr. Sharma Praksha Patil, Minister of Medical Education, Skill Development, and Livelihood, issued strict instructions to Dr. Sujatha Rathore, Director of Medical Education, to inspect and seal certain nursing colleges in the state.

In Karnataka, several nursing colleges have reportedly failed to provide basic amenities to students despite receiving full facilities from the government. Addressing this issue, a meeting was convened on Thursday at Vikas Soudha, Karnataka, chaired by Dr. Sharan Prakash Patil. The meeting included members of nursing college management and officials from the Medical Education Department. Senior officials including Mohammad Mohsin, Principal Secretary of the Medical Education Department, and PR Shivprasad, Registrar of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, were also present at the meeting.and PR Shivprasad, Registrar of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, also participated in the meeting.

According to a recent ANI media news report, Dr. Sharan Prakash Patil addressed concerns during a meeting, stating that he had received numerous complaints regarding the inadequate provision of basic facilities in several nursing colleges. Dr. Patil expressed dissatisfaction with the management of private colleges, noting that the government had initially shown leniency in hopes that they would rectify their shortcomings, but this approach did not yield the desired results.

The minister raised concerns, stating, "Except for a few, most colleges lack essential facilities like insufficient teaching and non-teaching staff, inadequate library and laboratory resources, and other issues. Despite collecting substantial fees from students during admission, they have failed to provide adequate facilities."

Therefore, he has instructed Dr. Sujata Rathore, Director of Medical Education, to conduct inspections of these colleges and proceed with sealing them if necessary. The directive includes pre-admission visits to ensure compliance with government regulations, with strict actions to be taken against violators.

Additionally, Dr. Patil rejected a proposal for a 20% increase in nursing college fees by stating that fees under the government quota will remain protected. Fees for management quota students are set at Rs. 1 lakh, and for non-Karnataka students, they stand at Rs. 1.40 lakh, as reported by ANI.

Meanwhile, the minister suggested that nursing college management allocate 40% of the seats under the government quota. Currently, out of the 35,000 seats available in 611 nursing colleges, 80% are filled by management and 20% by the government quota. Dr. Patil emphasized that increasing the government quota to 40% would significantly benefit economically disadvantaged students.

Dr. Patil also instructed officials to develop a framework to commence the admission process in July for the academic year 2024–25 instead of the current schedule in September.