At present, the nation hosts 5,203 nursing institutes, out of which 715 are government institutions
“Updating the Lok Sabha on Friday, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya revealed that the count of nursing institutes offering undergraduate courses has surged by 36% over nine years, from 1,641 in 2014 to 2,229 until March 2023.
Concurrently, the tally of undergraduate seats has also experienced a 40% rise during the same timeframe, escalating from 83,192 to 116,595, as per Mahdavia’s response to a question. The nation currently houses a total of 5,203 nursing institutes, out of which 715 are government-affiliated.
Mandaviya disclosed, ”The number of nursing institutes providing undergraduate courses increased from 1,641 in 2014 to 2,229 in 2023 (until March), showcasing a growth of 36%. Similarly, graduate seats also increased from 83,192 to 116,595, marking a 40% increase during the same period.”
Moreover, the country has 3.514 million registered nursing personnel, translating to a nurse-to-population ratio of 2.06 nurses per 1,000 people. The distribution of nursing institutions is attributed to various geographical and socio-economic factors influencing the availability and accessibility of nursing education in different regions.
To address the uneven distribution of nursing colleges, increase the number of nursing professionals, and enhance the quality of nursing education, the government has undertaken various measures. Mandaviya listed these measures, including relaxation of land norms for constructing nursing schools and hostels, relaxing the requirement of a 100-bedded parent hospital for hilly and tribal areas, and extending the distance requirement from 15 km to 30 km (50 km for hilly and tribal areas) between a school and its nearest hospital.
Additionally, for MSc (N) programs, the student-teacher ratio has been eased from 1:5 to 1:10, and the student-patient ratio for nursing institutions has been relaxed from 1:5 to 1:3. Married candidates are now eligible for nursing admission, and nursing colleges with parent hospitals having 300 beds can be granted up to 100 nursing seats without a mandatory medical college affiliation.
Further amendments include relaxing the scoring eligibility criteria for diploma and degree courses by 5%, allowing super-specialty hospitals to initiate MSc (N) courses without undergraduate offerings, and establishing 157 nursing colleges in medical colleges approved under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for ‘Establishment of new Medical College attached with existing district/referral hospital’ in the 2023-24 budget.
Mahdavia concluded by stating that the ‘Development of Nursing Services’ scheme provides grant-in-aid to states and UTs for upgrading schools of nursing to colleges of nursing.”
