Hundreds of Nepali students pursuing nursing education in India will be deprived of registration as the Indian Nursing Council (INC) recently announced that

students from Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh cannot be registered with any State Nursing Council in India as nurses without work permit.Issuing a letter to a Nepali student on March 22, the Karnataka State Nursing Council (KSNC) stated that “if you have been issued work visa in India, you would be registered as a nurse in the state of Karnataka for the period mentioned in the visa”.

The KSNC had acted on the INC directive issued on February 5. As a result, Nepali students pursuing nursing degrees will be deprived of internship as well.

With the decision, around 10,000 Nepali nursing students have been left in the lurch. “We cannot do internship or jobs in India if we are not registered as nurses,” said a Nepali student at Karnataka State Nursing Council in Bangalore. Shivaraj Bhandari, a representative for the Nepali students in Bangalore, said Nepal Nursing Council does not recognise their studies if they are not registered in an Indian Nursing Council.

Bimal Adhikari, chairman of the Delhi-based Nepal Pragatishil Student Manch, informed visiting Home Minister Ban Dev Gautam of the matter.

In response, Gautam said he would apprise the Nepal government on the matter and initiate diplomatic efforts to settle the matter.

Khaganath Adhikari, charge d’ affairs of the Nepali Embassy in India, said the embassy has written to the Indian Nursing Council, asking it not to discriminate against Nepali students.