BAJAUR: A government nursing college in Bajaur, which is the lone such facility in all the tribal districts, could not be made functional despite its construction about 18 years ago.

Sources privy to the matter told Dawn that the construction work on the two-storey building located near the District Headquarters Hospital in Khar was launched in 2002 and completed in 2006.

They said the institution was meant to offer a four-year nursing degree (BSc nursing) to students, including girls, who passed the higher secondary school certificate examination in science subjects.

The sources said the then director general health Fata, Dr Zubir Khan, during a visit to the building in May 2007, had announced it would be formally opened by September of that year.

However, the sources said classes couldn’t be launched in the college as per the stipulated time. They said the management of DHQ Hospital, which supervises the institution, had also sent SNE (sanctioned new expenditure) regarding the required equipment and staff to the provincial health department in November 2007.

DC promises to take up matter with relevant authorities

The sources said then provincial health minister Dr Hisham Inamullah Khan during a visit to the district on January 14, 2019, had announced launching classes in the institution soon.

The sources said after the health minister’s announcement, the provincial health department had started provision of necessary equipment to the institution to start classes in July 2019.

But the sources said the institution, which is to enroll about 50 students annually, couldn’t be opened.

The sources said the college was later handed over to the Provincial Health Services Academy (PHSA) in 2020.

Soon after taking control of the institution, PHSA decided to make the college functional by the end of 2020, and had also recruited essential staff, including the principal and some instructors (teaching staff). But the sources said the college could not be made functional.

The sources said the prolonged delay in making the college functional was not only forcing students to get enrolled in nursing colleges of Peshawar, Mardan, Swat, Timergara and other cities, but also damaging the valuable equipment.

Both the college building and the adjacent hostel are in bad shape. The hostel is currently in use by the nursing staff of the DHQ Hospital.

When contacted, a senior official of the health department confirmed to Dawn that the nursing college had been lying non-functional since its establishment in 2006.

The official wishing not to be unnamed said though the institution had been under the control of PHSA, an autonomous body, since 2020, non-availability of required staff, shortage of essential equipment and lack of interest by the relevant authority were said to be the reasons behind the prolonged delay in its opening.

Meanwhile, deputy commissioner Mohammad Anwarul Haq said he would take up the matter with the relevant authorities to ensure that it was made functional as soon as possible.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2024