BAJAUR: The Provincial Health Services Academy (PHSA) has decided to make the government nursing college in Bajaur functional almost two decades after its building was completed in 2006, sources said on Saturday.

The decision was taken during a visit by a team of senior officials of the PHSA, to which the facility was handed over in 2020.

Sources said the team, led by PHSA director Dr Sher Ali Khan, inspected the college building located on the premises of District Headquarters Hospital, Khar, and expressed concern over its poor condition.

They also inspected the college hostel, which is currently being used by female staff of the DHQ hospital and the local health department.

The officials expressed displeasure over the condition of the hostel, which was meant for students of the nursing college.

Accompanied by DHQ Hospital MS Dr Hayat Muhammad Khan Afridi, officials of the local health department and the building and work department, the PHSA team also regretted that expensive equipment installed in the building had remained unused for years.

Sources said the officials expressed deep concern that the two-storey nursing college had remained non-functional since its construction in 2006.

Dr Sher Ali Khan directed the building and works department to carry out repairs and renovate the facility to make it functional at the earliest. According to sources, no date for reopening the college was fixed during the visit.

However, a PHSA official told Dawn that the college for which several million rupees had been allocated in the provincial budget for fiscal year 2026-27, was expected to start classes by the end of August 2026.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2026