Indian Nursing Council exempts Puducherry from conducting common entrance test for BSc nursing this year

Puducherry: Providing relief to aspiring nursing students, the Indian Nursing Council (INC) has exempted Puducherry from conducting Common Entrance Test for BSc (Nursing) admission in the union territory this academic year. 

According to a media report in TNIE, admissions this year will be based on the existing Class 12 board score pattern since the students will face difficulties preparing for the exam. 

In this way, nursing students and nursing aspirants will have time to complete their studies and the health department will also have time to begin the admission process without rushing. 

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The decision comes in line after the UT administration approached the INC twice on June 21 expressing their concern and difficulty to conduct the test by July and complete the admission process by August as prescribed by the council.

In April, the Puducherry territorial administration requested the Indian Nursing Council (INC) to allow nursing admissions for the academic year 2023-24 based on Class 12 marks, continuing the same process as in previous years. 

However, the request was denied by the council and on June 8, the INC secretary asked the Health Department to admit nursing students with a qualifying examination.

Meanwhile, considering the situation of the students and accepting the request of the administration, the council decided to exempt Puducherry from conducting Common Entrance Test for B.Sc (Nursing) admission this academic year 2023-24. 

In a letter to Puducherry Health Secretary on Wednesday, Lieutenant Col Sarvjeet Kaur, secretary of INC responded “INC has agreed to the request for exemption from the conduct of entrance examination for admission in B. Sc (Nursing) this academic year as a one-time measure for the Union Territory only. However, this will not be set as a precedence.”

There are 970 seats for BSc Nursing across 13 nursing colleges at UT. Of these, only Mother Theresa Post Graduate Research Institute of Health Sciences is a government college that comes with 80 seats. Eight are private and four others are deemed universities.

INC new rule

A notification dated April 2023 states that all students of the BSc nursing programme for the academic year 2023-24 will be admitted only if they meet the qualification criteria of an entrance examination conducted by state governments, universities, or state common entrance cells. 

Students currently pursuing the course without having passed or appeared in the combined admission test conducted for course admission, or without following the admission guidelines prescribed by the council, may encounter difficulties in obtaining reciprocal registration.

Reciprocal Registration refers to the procedure that nurses undergo when transitioning from one State Nursing Registration Council to another.

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