People demand nursing, paramedical college in Kupwara

Kupwara, Nov 19: The residents of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district have appealed to Omar Abdullah led government to establish a nursing and paramedical college at the District Headquarter here so that the students from this frontier district may avail the facility at their doorsteps.

The residents said that at a time when students prefer to go for medical professional courses, students from this district are subjected to move out of the district to seek admission in different medical courses.

“If there was a nursing and paramedical college at district headquarters Kupwara, students from this district would not have been forced to look for other alternatives. Since most of the students from this district come from underprivileged families so seeking admission in private colleges in Kashmir or outside Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir happens to be a herculean task for them,” Civil Society Convener Kupwara Showkat Masoodi told Greater Kashmir.

He said that the government should take the demand seriously so that students from this frontier district may avail the facility at their doorsteps.

Masoodi said that during their recent meeting with the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, he along with other members of the Civil Society Kupwara put forth this demand before him. “We are sure that this demand will be fulfilled soon,” he added.

Students undergoing paramedical courses at different colleges outside Kashmir have also echoed their voice to establish nursing and paramedical colleges in Kupwara without further delay so that others may benefit. “I recently completed BSC Radiology from Punjab and had to pay over Rs three lakh by taking a loan from the bank because my father is a laborer so he was not in a position to pay my fee,” said Adil from Hatmulla area of Kupwara.

“Those students who come from towns do receive better education with the result they secure a good percentage at 12th class consequently they get eligible for Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme and secure admission in different paramedical colleges to pursue different courses. Students like me who hardly manage sixty percent in 12th class do not get benefitted by PMSSS, so I request Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to kindly sanction a paramedical college at Kupwara so that students like me can avail the benefit,” said Ashiq Ahmad from Machil Kupwara.