BENGALURU: Another scam seems to be brewing in the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), this time in nursing admissions and affiliation of institutions. This is the latest in a series of controversies involving the varsity.
Following several complaints from the public and stakeholders alleging a scam in nursing admissions and affiliations, the Principal Secretary to the Medical Education Department has instructed the department director to lodge a complaint with the police.
In the letter, dated September 3, 2015, a copy of which is with Express, principal secretary M Lakshminarayan has instructed the director to send to the department a draft copy of the complaint about "irregularities in admissions and affiliations in paramedical and nursing courses at Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS)."
The letter further says that the issue was communicated to the director on February 7, May 29 and August 14, but "till date, we have not received a draft complaint copy. This is a serious case and you will be held responsible for further delays."
According to RGUHS sources, the complaints were during 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 when Dr Prem Kumar was Registrar (Administration) and Prof N S Ashok Kumar was Registrar (Evaluation).
"At that time, there were complaints of admissions to nursing courses being approved overnight," a source said.
According to complaints filed with the department, most nursing colleges in the state were giving admissions to students based on fake documents. The admissions were approved just a day before the exams, and, in some cases, even on the day of the exams, sources said.
"Usually, these students come from North-eastern states and Kerala. A majority of them just get their admissions confirmed at the colleges, go back to their state and pursue another course. They come back only during the exams. It is a big racket and a thorough inquiry must be conducted," a senior syndicate member, who did not want to be named, said.
When contacted, Dr Sachidanand, RGUHS Registrar (Evaluation), said, "As I was not the registrar during 2011-12 to 2013-14, I am not aware about what exactly had happened. We have not received any communication from the government in this regard."
Dr S S Harsoor, director, medical education, however, said, "The case is akin to the university affiliation scam. Yes, I have been told to file a complaint. As we don't have any details about the issue, we are writing to the government."
At least 330 nursing colleges across the state are affiliated to RGUHS, offering BSc nursing, post-BSc nursing and MSc nursing courses.