Bhubaneswar: Authorities in Odisha have swung into action following the prolonged delay in conducting semester examinations for BSc Nursing students in Baleshwar district.
After undue delay the semester exams for the 2021–22 batch students, the Odisha Nurses and Midwives Registration Council (ONMRC) has issued show-cause notices to 16 nursing colleges affiliated to Fakir Mohan University.
According to information, the council reportedly asked the colleges to submit detailed explanations about the delays within two days.
The intervention comes after hundreds of nursing students from five private colleges staged a sit-in protest (dharna) outside the Fakir Mohan University campus 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.
It was claimed that the regular four-year degree course already reportedly stretched into its sixth year because the authorities failed to conduct the seventh and eighth-semester examinations.
Meanwhile, the situation took a fresh turn as a new notification for fresh nursing admissions was issued.
During the protest, a delegation of students also met Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj, who was on a visit to Baleshwar, and sought his immediate intervention to resolve the long-pending issue.
The council directed the 16 institutions to explain exactly why the final examinations were deferred, leaving the academic futures of the 2021–22 batch in limbo. Strict action is likely if the institutions fail to provide a satisfactory explanation, sources said.
This development has brought much-needed attention to the ongoing academic crisis faced by nursing students in the district.
