Mumbai: The state will soon share a revised admission schedule for nursing colleges as the Indian Nursing Council has extended the deadline for admissions. The Private Nursing Schools and Colleges Management Association of Maharashtra has demanded that the percentile criteria for admissions to the nursing degree programme be brought down to zero. The association has also sought an extension of the admission cutoff date for all nursing programmes, which currently ends on Nov 30, from the commissioner of Medical Education and Research.At a time when Maharashtra faces a critical shortage of trained nurses, over half the seats in its nursing colleges are gathering dust, reads the letter by Association President Dr Balasaheb Pawar. More than 7,750 BSc Nursing seats—a staggering 42% of the state’s capacity—remain vacant this year.The letter warns that Maharashtra’s insistence on a rigid percentile-based admission system is closing the gates on many otherwise eligible candidates. Unlike other states such as Kerala, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and West Bengal, where admissions are based largely on Class 12 marks without mandating an entrance exam or percentile cutoff, Maharashtra’s CET-based process is proving exclusionary, added Dr Pawar.The appeal also highlighted an unresolved legal directive. In 2022, the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay high court ordered the Indian Nursing Council to standardise the BSc Nursing admission process. Yet, while other states moved towards a more uniform model, Maharashtra continues to rely on its own CET-based system. “Uniformity is still missing,” Dr Pawar added.Maharashtra has more than 200 nursing colleges with a combined capacity of over 16,000 BSc Nursing seats. The letter concluded by stating that the stakes could not be bigger: “These measures are crucial for strengthening Maharashtra’s healthcare workforce.”
