VIJAYAWADA: Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav on Monday urged High Power Committee (HPC) Chairman Justice U Durga Prasad Rao to initiate reforms in the establishment and management of nursing education institutions in the State.
Justice Durga Prasad, a former High Court judge, assumed charge on Sunday and met the minister the following day. Yadav flagged serious lapses and alleged large-scale corruption in the nursing education sector, noting that nearly 30,000 nurses graduate annually from about 560 institutions in the State.
He pointed out that 133 institutions, nearly 25%, were established between 2019 and 2024. Of these, 28 were reportedly approved without parent hospitals, in violation of Indian Nursing Council norms.
The minister expressed concern over the consequences of inadequate training and said the current coalition government had approved only 15 institutions in the past ten months, all after detailed scrutiny. He said he had resisted pressure to approve colleges that lacked parent hospitals.
Calling for strict adherence to norms, Yadav asked the HPC to curb corruption and assured full support from the State government. He called for coordinated efforts by the HPC, the State Nursing Council.