Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Nursing admissions in the state are set to shift back to the old procedure, allowing colleges to grant admissions directly without any centralised entrance test or cut-off. A notification regarding the change is expected to be issued soon, just ahead of the upcoming academic session.
The framework regarding this has already been discussed in a recent meeting. Vishal Baghel, an advocate, said that during the hearing related to nursing matters, the Madhya Pradesh Nursing Council had earlier informed the court that it had implemented major reforms in the system, including changes in admission procedures.
However, due to a sharp decline in admissions and a large number of vacant seats across colleges, authorities are now moving back to the previous methodology.
Baghel claimed that the council had introduced stricter norms under court scrutiny, including entrance-based admissions, but these measures resulted in many students failing to secure seats. As a result, the system is now being reversed to allow institutions to fill seats through direct admissions, similar to the earlier process, he added.
What will change in the system
Under the revised framework, admissions to nursing courses such as General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) were made through a centralised entrance examination system, similar to NEET. The state-level Pre-Nursing Selection Test (PNST) was introduced, where students had to qualify based on a cut-off score. Colleges were not allowed to admit students directly and had to follow merit lists generated through the test.
With the proposed rollback, this system is likely to be scrapped. Colleges will once again be allowed to grant admissions at their own level without any entrance test or minimum cut-off, effectively restoring the direct admission model.
Infrastructure norms
Infrastructure requirements have also seen major changes during this period. Earlier, nursing colleges were required to maintain large campus areas, ranging between 18,000 to 23,000 square feet to meet recognition standards. These norms were later reduced to around 8,000 square feet, which drew objections and legal scrutiny.
The court intervened in the matter, following which authorities revised the rules. Now, with fresh policy changes under consideration, the infrastructure norms may again be relaxed or modified to accommodate more institutions.
