EXCESS ENROLMENT IN NURSING COLLEGES SHOCKS HIGH COURT

The Telangana High Court on Thursday expressed surprise at the mechanism adopted by some nursing and para-medical colleges in attempting to get approval of courts for taking admissions beyond the stipulated intake.

Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy was dealing with a petition filed by Varkala Sowmya and 59 other first-year students of Srinivasa School of Nursing in Nalgonda. They complained that the district medical and health officer (DMHO) was not accepting the exam fee they had paid through their college. The students sought directions to the authorities for issuing them hall tickets so that they could appear for the exams.

In the previous hearing, Nagesh Bheemapaka, government counsel for the medical and health department, submitted that officials had already approved a list of 60 students sent by the same college. But, now another list was forwarded for approval with a change in the name of the college correspondent. He also brought to the notice of the court that 15 students out of the 60 who had filed the petition, had already been cleared to attend the exams.

Bheempaka said that colleges were devising ways and means to get scholarships and other benefits extended to students by the government, by submitting names of more students on paper.

On Thursday, the 15 students submitted that they were not related to the petition and that they were unaware of the remaining 45 students.

The court directed the district officer for medical and health to submit details of where the discrepancies had occurred and cautioned the management of Srinivasa College to face the consequences if anything malafide was unearthed.