PESHAWAR, March 15: Students at the Khyber Teaching Hospital Nursing School have complained about tough working conditions and inadequate rest and recreation facilities and criticized their supervisory staff for not letting them prepare for their examinations, which are scheduled to be held on March 18.

They said that they were unable to study in an atmosphere not conducive to academic activities. "Senior officials, including the chief nursing superintendent and the principal of the nursing school, are not allowing the students to prepare for examinations," said nursing students.

They said as a rule, students should be allowed to study but most of the time they had been forced to perform duty at operation theatres, emergency, surgical and children's wards.

Accusing the hospital administration of being in league with the nursing school officials, they said that they had repeatedly complained and asked for exempting them from tough duties, adding that it was of no use.

Citing Pakistan Nursing Council rules, nursing students underwent a four-year study and they were not allowed to attend ward patients. "Attending patients is the duty of staff nurses because they are government servants. But here, we are forced to perform ward duties, besides performing duties in operation theatres, casualty and out-patient departments".

Students said that they performed regular morning-to-evening duties besides working in the hospital's night shift, adding that many of them fell sick because of being not used to such tough schedule.

They accused the CNS of not even letting them take proper rest, adding that they were forced to perform duties even while running temperature.

"Our problem is that after passing our matriculation examination, we do not have the money to take admission in colleges and, therefore, we ultimately end up joining the nursing profession, where we receive Rs1,275 as stipend per month," they said. They also complained about inferior-quality food.