"My own daughter-in-law is selling leafy vegetables in the US despite having a nursing certificate," Pokharel told a meeting of Parliamentary Committee on Women, Children and Social Welfare. "This is exactly the condition of most of young Nepali nurses abroad." [break]
Recently, according to Pokharel, a group of Nepali nurses, among other health workers, who went to Australia in pursuit of high paid jobs, had to return. "Our health workers, especially nurses, are not finding jobs abroad due to the poor quality of education offered by nursing colleges here."
According to Rajendra Baral, general secretary of the Education Consultancy Association of Nepal (ECAN), products of Nepali nursing colleges have failed to cash in on the global demand for nurses. "There are plenty of job opportunities worldwide," Baral said. "But Nepali nurses have failed to grab the opportunities."
Nepali nurses aspiring to work abroad have to pass different tests. However, according to Baral, only a few nurses successfully get through these tests. "Most of them fail practical tests," he said. "It is because the colleges here solely focus on theory."
In the recent years, the quality of education provided by Nepali nursing colleges has been deteriorating. It is proven by the fact that a number of nurses are unemployed. "At present, hardly 200 Nepali nurses are working overseas," Baral told myrepublica.com.
Out of 25,000 nurses produced in Nepal so far, only 6,000 are employed in government and community hospitals and a few more thousands in private hospitals.
According to Dr Shekhar Koirala, who was vice president of BP Koirala Institute of Health Science (BPKIHS) before joining politics, Nepali nursing colleges have not followed international standards.
"Anywhere in the world, even in India except in Jammu and Kashmir, students have to complete 12th grade before studying nursing," he said. "However, in Nepal, those who pass 10th grade are eligible to study nursing. This is the reason behind Nepali nurses´ poor performance."
However, Takma KC, former vice president of Nepal Nursing Council (NNC), points at multiple reasons behind the recent deterioration in the quality of Nepali nursing colleges. "All of these reasons have to do with nursing colleges´ failure to strictly follow international standards," KC told myrepublica.com.
KC says that CTEVT´s (Council of Technical Education and Vocational Training) decision to issue licenses to even those colleges that do no have affiliations with 50-bed hospitals has further worsened the quality of nursing education.
"While in NNC, we proposed that nursing colleges should necessarily have affiliation with 200-bed hospitals," KC said. "However, the new executive committee of NNC reduced it to 50-bed bed hospitals. And, CTEVT let colleges with no affiliation with 50-bed hospitals to run nursing courses on condition that they would acquire affiliation within two years."
A student has to observe and assist at least 15 child delivery cases before completing nursing course. "But those students who study in colleges with no affiliation with 50-bed hospital obtain certificates without observing a single delivery case," KC said. "These colleges are producing killers rather than nurses."
Of the total 88 colleges that offer Proficiency Certificate Level (PCL) nursing courses, almost half of them have no affiliation with 50-bed hospitals at all. CTEVT had directed them to acquire affiliations with 50-bed hospital within two years. CTEVT had to finally retreat from its decision, though.
Another reason behind Nepali nursing colleges´ deteriorating quality is the lack of adequate experienced teachers, she said, adding that the available teachers had to teach simultaneously at more than two colleges.
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