1. Call for ‘Nightingales’ from Govt Colleges gets shriller
2. Telangana has only six Government General Nursing and Midwifery colleges

As nurses across Telangana join millions worldwide to celebrate International Nursing Day today (May 12), the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale — the occasion also sparked fresh calls for urgent expansion of government nursing colleges in the state.

Currently, the state has six government nursing schools offering the General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) diploma and 14 government colleges providing the B.Sc (Nursing) degree. This number is dwarfed by the 70 to 80 private institutions, each offering GNM and B.Sc (Nursing), that dominate the nursing education landscape in Telangana.

While tuition fees at government institutions remain affordable — ranging between Rs.20,000 to Rs.40,000 for the entire course — private colleges charge several lakhs, making nursing education out of reach for many rural and economically weaker students.

Warangal MP Kadiyam Kavya says, “The high cost of private nursing education is a serious burden, especially for aspiring girls from rural and modest financial backgrounds.”

Echoing similar sentiments, B Shireesha Rani, Vice-President of the Telangana Government Nurses Association, highlighted the absence of a fee reimbursement facility for nursing education and the pressing need to make professional training accessible to all. “Private colleges are charging a bomb. Many capable girls are dropping out of their dreams due to unaffordable fees,” she said.

Telangana lags behind in Government GNM Colleges

A comparison of GNM institutions across India reveals that Telangana's 6 government GNM institutions fall short when compared to several other states. West Bengal has 45 government GNM colleges, Maharashtra: 38, Kerala: 20 government GNM colleges, Rajasthan: 14 government GNM colleges, Tamil Nadu: 25 and Karnataka-17 government GNM colleges

Despite having a substantial number of private GNM institutions (74), the low number of government schools means that many capable but financially challenged students are excluded from pursuing nursing careers.The state trails behind in B.Sc (Nursing) Govt Colleges too.

Telangana again lags behind with only 14 government colleges, while several other states have a stronger public institutional base. As per Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data, Kerala has 29 government B.Sc (Nursing) colleges, Rajasthan: 32, Madhya Pradesh: 16, Uttar Pradesh: 18 and Karnataka: 13 (but with a vast 378 number of private colleges).

Nurses from Northeastern states give Kerala sisters a run for their money

Not so long ago, it was nurses from Kerala dominating hospitals but in the last decade-and-a-half, nurses from the Northeastern states such as Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim are joining the hospital industry.

A nurse from Durgabhai Deshmukh Hospital says, “When I entered the profession there were just a handful of nurses from Northeastern states but now their number has gone up.”

Huge demand for nurses in England, Germany and Japan

According to Telangana Overseas Manpower Company Limited (TOMCOM), there is huge demand for nurses in Japan, England, Germany and other countries. In the last two years, several batches of nurses from Telangana gained employment abroad.