Baleshwar: The Odisha Nurses & Midwives Registration Council (ONMRC) has swung into action over the prolonged delay in conducting semester examinations for BSc Nursing students in Balasore district.
The Council has issued show-cause notices to 16 nursing colleges in the district, asking them to explain within two days why the semester examinations have not been conducted on time.
The move comes after hundreds of nursing students from five private colleges affiliated to Fakir Mohan University staged a sit-in protest (dharna) outside the university on Friday. The students alleged that despite enrolling in the four-year BSc Nursing programme more than six years ago, their seventh and eighth semester examinations are yet to be held.
Many students claimed that their academic course, which should have been completed in four years, has now stretched beyond six years, severely affecting their future careers, higher studies, and employment opportunities.
During the protest, a delegation of students had also met Odisha Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj, who was on a visit to Baleshwar, and appealed for his immediate intervention to resolve the long-pending issue.
ONMRC has directed the colleges to submit detailed reports regarding the reasons for the delay in conducting the examinations. Strict action is likely if the institutions fail to provide a satisfactory explanation.
This development has brought much-needed attention to the ongoing academic crisis faced by nursing students in the district.
