ISLAMABAD: The approval record of 13 nursing colleges five in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and eight in Punjab is reportedly unavailable with the Pakistan Nursing Council (PNC), according to sources.
Sources said the colleges were allegedly approved by the previous council, but the relevant records could not be traced. They claimed that the new council, constituted under a presidential ordinance, subsequently came under pressure to upload the approvals on its official website.
The sources also alleged that some of the colleges were granted approval in return for millions of rupees in bribes. They further claimed that commission agents obtained registration letters for certain institutions and later sold the approvals to colleges for substantial sums.
The allegations, however, could not be independently verified.
According to documents and information shared with sources, five institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were allocated seats across various nursing and paramedical programmes. These included NIF School of Nursing and Institute of Medical Sciences in Dera Ismail Khan, Lucky Institute of Nursing in Lakki Marwat, Roomi Medical Institute in Peshawar, Hallmark College of Nursing and Health Sciences in Peshawar and Superior Institute of Medical Sciences in Swat.
The reported allocations included BS Nursing, Post-RN BSN, LHV, Community Midwifery (CMW), Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and other programmes.
In Punjab, eight institutions were reportedly allocated seats in nursing and paramedical programmes. These included Prime College of Nursing in Faisalabad, Leeds College in Khushab, Salvia School of Nursing in Lahore, Abdullah College of Nursing in Lahore, Ibn Sina College of Paramedical Sciences in Sargodha, Noor College of Nursing in Nankana Sahib, Sehat Institute of Medical Sciences in Faisalabad and Alhamd College of Nursing at Alhamd Islamic University in Bahara Kahu, Islamabad.
The reported allocations covered programmes including BS Nursing, Post-RN BSN, LHV, CMW, CNA and BS Midwifery.
Sources said the combined allocations ran into hundreds of nursing and paramedical seats, raising questions over the regulatory process and the availability of official approval records.
When contacted, the secretary of the Pakistan Nursing Council did not respond to requests for comment.
Further verification from the council and other relevant authorities is awaited.
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