Nursing is not a theoretical profession. Poor clinical training today means unsafe patient care tomorrow. Accountability cannot begin and end with the student.
Shahid Shafi Rather
Over the past few years, Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed a rapid surge in the number of private nursing colleges. While expanding educational opportunities is important, a pressing question continues to haunt students, parents, and healthcare professionals alike: Are all these institutions genuinely meeting the standards required to educate future nurses? Or has nursing education gradually become a business model where affiliations and permissions are easier to obtain than quality standards are to maintain?
The Jammu & Kashmir Students Association (JKSA), one of the leading student bodies in the Union Territory, has repeatedly received complaints from nursing students regarding inadequate infrastructure, shortage of qualified faculty, poor laboratory facilities, insufficient clinical exposure, and lack of transparency in the functioning of several private nursing colleges. Despite these concerns, new institutions continue to emerge almost every year, raising questions about the effectiveness of the affiliation and inspection mechanisms governing nursing education.
Students and parents often wonder what parameters are being used while granting affiliations and permissions. Nursing colleges proudly display approvals from the Jammu & Kashmir Nursing Council, universities, and other regulatory bodies. However, the reality experienced by many students after admission frequently paints a different picture. If a college lacks adequate faculty, skill laboratories, library resources, hostel facilities, transportation arrangements, or genuine hospital affiliations, how does it continue to receive approvals for admitting fresh batches? These are questions that deserve answers, not silence.
The issue becomes even more serious when viewed from the perspective of patient care. Nursing is not a theoretical profession. It is built upon practical competence, clinical judgment, and hands-on experience. Yet many students report inadequate exposure to speciality departments such as Intensive Care Units, Operation Theatres, Emergency Departments, Paediatrics, Psychiatry, Community Health Nursing, and Obstetrics & Gynaecology. In some institutions, hospital affiliations appear insufficient for the number of students enrolled, leading to overcrowded clinical postings and reduced learning opportunities. A nursing student who is denied proper clinical exposure today may become a healthcare professional tomorrow who is expected to manage critically ill patients.
Whenever incidents occur in hospitals involving errors or lapses in patient care, attention is often directed towards the individual healthcare worker. However, a broader question must also be asked: who bears responsibility when students are not provided adequate training, proper supervision, functional laboratories, simulation facilities, and sufficient clinical practice during their educational years? Accountability cannot begin and end with the student. Educational institutions, regulatory authorities, and inspection mechanisms must also share responsibility for ensuring that graduates possess the competencies required for safe patient care.
Another deeply concerning issue is the fear among students to raise complaints. Many students hesitate to speak openly about deficiencies within their institutions because they fear academic repercussions, victimisation, delayed examinations, suspension, or adverse effects on their degree progression. This culture of fear creates an environment where genuine concerns remain unreported and unresolved. Educational institutions should be places where students can express concerns without intimidation and where grievances are addressed through transparent mechanisms.
Equally important is the issue of inspections and monitoring. Are inspections being conducted regularly? Are deficiencies identified and rectified? Are inspection reports publicly available? Greater transparency in the inspection process would strengthen public confidence and ensure that institutions remain compliant throughout the year rather than merely during inspection visits. The public, students, and parents have a legitimate right to know whether colleges entrusted with producing healthcare professionals are meeting prescribed standards.
As the admission season approaches in the coming months, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive review of all private nursing colleges operating in Jammu & Kashmir. A high-level independent committee comprising representatives from regulatory bodies, healthcare institutions, nursing experts, and student stakeholders should be constituted to assess infrastructure, faculty strength, laboratory facilities, hospital affiliations, clinical exposure, and compliance with prescribed norms. Institutions found lacking essential requirements should be directed to rectify deficiencies within a fixed timeframe, and those persistently failing to meet standards should face strict regulatory action.
The issue is not about opposing private nursing education. Private institutions have an important role to play in strengthening healthcare education. However, expansion without accountability risks compromising the quality of future healthcare professionals. Nursing education cannot be treated as a commercial enterprise where admissions and affiliations take precedence over competence and training. Every approval granted by a regulatory authority carries a responsibility towards students, patients, and society.
Jammu and Kashmir deserves nursing institutions that uphold the highest standards of education, ethics, and clinical excellence. Transparency in affiliations, rigorous inspections, accountability in regulation, and protection of student interests must become non-negotiable principles. The future nurses of this region and the patients they will one day serve deserve nothing less.
The writer is a social activist
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