Karnataka govt forms committee to monitor, regulate nursing college fees

Bengaluru : In a decisive move to address the escalating fees imposed by nursing colleges across the state, Karnataka Medical Education & Skill Development Minister, Dr Sharan Prakash Patil has ordered the formation of a fee regulatory committee to monitor and regulate the fee structures of these institutions.

During a review meeting of nursing institutions at his Vikasa Soudha office on Monday, Dr Patil disclosed that his office had received numerous complaints regarding the excessive fees charged by nursing colleges, which have placed a heavy financial burden on students.

The newly constituted five-member fee regulatory committee, headed by the Joint Secretary of the Medical Education Department, will be tasked with scrutinising the fee structures. "Withdraw the Essential Certificate & Feasibility Certificate (EC&FC) of any nursing college found imposing fees beyond the government-prescribed limits," Dr Patil instructed department officials.

Currently, the fee structure stands at Rs 10,000 for students admitted under the government quota, Rs 1 lakh under the management quota, and Rs 1.40 lakh for non-Karnataka students.

There are 35,000 seats available across 611 nursing colleges in the state.

Dr Patil recently rejected a request from nursing college management to increase the fee structure by 20 percent. The committee's oversight will extend to both B.Sc. Nursing and General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) diploma programs.

In addition, Dr Patil directed the Principal Secretary of Medical Education, Mohammed Moshin, to convene a meeting with district Deputy Commissioners (DCs) to inspect the infrastructure and basic facilities at GNM colleges at the taluk and district levels. The inspection reports are to be submitted within a month. For B.Sc. Nursing colleges, the Director of Medical Education, Dr B.L. Sujatha Rathod, was instructed to form a panel for inspection and submit a report promptly.

"We have received reports that many nursing colleges lack essential facilities, such as adequate teaching and non-teaching staff, libraries, laboratories, and hygiene standards. Despite charging substantial fees, they fail to provide the required facilities. Permission for such colleges should be withdrawn if they are found guilty," Dr Patil emphasised during the meeting.

The minister further directed officials to ensure that nursing institutions are exclusively running nursing courses. "Revoke the permissions of institutions that are conducting multiple courses in the same building," he stated.

The meeting was attended by Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences Vice-Chancellor Dr Ramesh, Registrar PR Shivaprasad, and Joint Secretary (Medical Education) VenkateshMurthy.