Jammu, July 15 The Government Nursing College Gangyal of GMC Jammu has charged the exorbitant fee from students in violation of Health and Medical Education Department orders which has caused financial and mental distress among students.
As per Government Order number 595 of Health and Medical Education, dated 25-10-2017, applicable to all government nursing colleges in Jammu and Kashmir, Rs 9100 per year must be charged from nursing students.
Violating the order, the Nursing College Gangyal Jammu has exacted Rs 70,000 fee from ‘Above Poverty Line’ students and Rs 50,000 from ‘Below Poverty Line’
students. Nearly 210 students (from 1st to 3rd year) are enrolled in the college- a total of Rs 2,20000 as Course Fee and Rs 10,400 as Exam fee for four years.
The Nursing College Gangyal has cited an order of the Higher Education department vide number 302 of 2019, dated 18-06-2019 and asked students to pay the fee ‘as per revised’ order.
However, the nursing colleges are administered by Jammu and Kashmir Nursing Council rules and run by GMC laws. In Kashmir and Jammu, all
government nursing colleges except Gangyal are charging fee as per the 2017 order of the Health and Medical Education department and approved by the Council.
Officials of GMC Nursing Colleges in Baramulla, Anantnag and Srinagar confirmed they are taking Rs 9100 fee from students per year as per the H&ME orders.
Officials said the Higher Education Department (HED) order is applicable to those nursing colleges which are administered by the (HED) and is not applicable to GMC-run colleges.
Shocked with the exorbitant fee charged by the college, the students have written to Principal Secretary Health and Medical Education Department Manoj Kumar Diwedi
A senior official in the Finance section of the Health and Medical Education Department confirmed that the officials have “acknowledged the grievance of the students” and “are looking into it as to how the college has violated the order.”
Rajini Bala Principal of the Gangyal Nursing College admitted that the college has taken exorbitant fees from the students but said this was done as per the notification of the University of Jammu and the higher education department order of 2019.
“The college took the fee as per the notification of Jammu university which cited Higher Education department order. But the students raised the issue with the authorities after which a Nursing Council meeting (held in the first week of July in Srinagar) headed by Dr Samia Rashid (Principal GMC Srinagar) decided
that all colleges should take the same fee as per the Health and Medical Education department order,” she said.
Bala said that the matter will be “sorted out in a few days as we are waiting for the orders of the council meeting.”
“The fee will be refunded to the students or adjusted with their remaining years,” she added. (KNT)
