The University of Health Sciences (UHS) Board of Studies in Nursing has granted permission for the examination of students who were admitted to government nursing colleges in the preceding September-October and, therefore, missed both annual and supplementary first professional exams.
A decision to this effect was taken in a meeting held on Wednesday.
The meeting was chaired by UHS Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Ahsan Waheed Rathore.
The members were informed that in 2022, admissions to the B.Sc. Nursing program in public sector colleges held in two phases.
While students admitted in March-April successfully participated in annual and supplementary exams, those enrolled in September-October were unable to sit for both exams.
Consequently, it was agreed to conduct the First Professional examination for these students.
To facilitate this, admissions for the year 2022 were categorized into two sessions.
Prof. Dr. Ahsan Waheed Rathore stated that this decision is being made solely in consideration of the students' difficulties, and irregularities will not be acceptable in future admissions.
He clarified that only two exams, i.e., annual and supplementary, will be held within one year, and no special exams will be conducted under any circumstances. He further said that UHS aims to standardize admissions for all government and private nursing colleges in the year 2023-2024, following the Academic Council decisions.
He said that admissions for the 4-year and 2-year nursing degree programs may begin at the end of September, with all admissions finalized by December 31 and classes commencing in the first week of January.
Prof. Rathore further stressed that there will be no distinction between government and private nursing colleges. He warned that admissions will be withheld for colleges not complying with Pakistan Nursing Council criteria and standards.
During the meeting, approval was granted for the registration of students admitted to evening shifts in nursing colleges for the current academic year. UHS VC, however, mandated a rigorous verification process for the eligibility and documents of all admitted students before registration.
The meeting witnessed the participation of heads and representatives from affiliated nursing colleges under UHS, along with the Director General Nursing Punjab Munaza Cheema, UHS Pro-VC Prof. Nadia Naseem, Registrar, Prof. Sarah Ghafoor, and Controller of Examinations, Dr. Muhammad Abbas.