'Unethical Practice': Indian Nursing Council raps medical colleges for making students work under service bond

The Indian Nursing Council (INC) has warned private medical institutions to stop demanding service bonds from students and force them to work as staff nurses. The council, in its official statement, said that some medical colleges have been following “unethical practice” by forcefully retaining their original certificates in the wake of continuing their service.

The warning comes after the council observed that some private nursing institutions are obtaining service bonds from students who have completed their course and forcibly retaining their original certificates to compel them to continue working as staff nurses.

“Action against unethical practise of obtaining bond system has been mentioned in gazette notification Minimum Pre-Requisites for Granting Suitability to Nursing Programs Regulation 2020 dated 12.03.2021- Page No 13, Point No. 20,” according to an official statement.

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Strict action against erring colleges: INC

The council reiterated that if such practice comes to its notice, appropriate action under Section 14 of the INC Act will be taken against the erring institution.

“Taking service bonds from students and forcefully retaining their original certificates is viewed as an unethical practice by the Council,” the statement said.

In September last year, the INC dismissed recognition of 42 nursing colleges in Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir over failure to comply with the rules.

In another inspection, the council withdrew recognition of a total of 32 nursing institutions across Bihar and Assam. The action was taken after it found that the colleges failed to apply for statutory inspections for several years.