AMARAVATI, April 16: In a significant policy decision aimed at correcting the imbalance between the supply of nursing graduates and actual demand in the State, Health Minister Sri Satyakumar Yadav on Thursday announced that henceforth only applications received in response to official government notifications would be considered for the establishment of new nursing educational institutions in Andhra Pradesh. Unsolicited or suo motu proposals will no longer be entertained, the Minister made clear.

The announcement was made following an extensive review meeting on nursing education held at the AP Secretariat in Velagapudi, which lasted nearly two hours. The Minister clarified that an exemption to this policy would be extended to proposals pertaining to tribal areas.

Background to the Decision

Officials apprised the Minister at the review that the State currently has 691 nursing educational institutions, which collectively produce approximately 32,000 nursing graduates every year. Despite this, around 6,000 nursing seats have been going unfilled annually for the past several years, pointing to a significant oversupply. Between 2014 and the present, as many as 243 nursing colleges and schools have been sanctioned, all of them on the basis of suo motu proposals submitted by various institutions and approved by successive governments.

In a departure from this practice, the present alliance government last year invited applications from interested organisations for the establishment of nursing institutions in various parts of the State based on assessed need. In response, approximately 345 applications were received and are currently under consideration by a High Power Committee. It was against this backdrop that the Minister announced the new policy decision.

Minister Satyakumar Yadav discussed the finer points of the decision to disallow suo motu proposals with High Power Committee Chairman and retired High Court Judge Sri Upnaka Durga Prasada Rao.

Nurses Must Be Trained to Meet Evolving Demands

The review meeting also deliberated on employment opportunities in the health sector in the context of the State government's target of generating 20 lakh jobs by 2029. The Minister noted that the health sector alone holds the potential for over one lakh employment opportunities, and that appropriate reforms in nursing training could enable large-scale job creation.

Satyakumar Yadav stressed the need to incorporate emerging areas of healthcare into nursing training curricula, particularly geriatric care, child care services, and mental health services, given the rapidly growing demand in these specialisations. State Nursing Council Registrar Smt. Sushila informed the meeting that steps would be taken to launch a Post Graduate Residency Programme in these specialisations in government nursing institutions shortly.

Committee to Review Nursing College Fees

The question of revision of annual tuition fees in nursing institutions also figured prominently in the discussions. Representatives of nursing institutions pointed out that fees were last revised nearly a decade ago in 2017, and that rising inflation since then had made the running of colleges increasingly difficult, necessitating an upward revision. The Minister announced the constitution of a committee under High Power Committee Chairman and retired High Court Judge Sri Durga Prasada Rao to examine the matter scientifically and submit a report, on the basis of which the fee revision would be considered.

The meeting was attended by Health Department Principal Secretary Sri Saurabh Gaur, Director of Medical Education Dr. Raghunandan, State Nursing Council Registrar Smt. Sushila, other senior officials, and representatives of the Nursing Colleges Management Association.