Kerala: Nursing students hold sit-in before collectorate

KANNUR: Hundreds of nursing students along with striking nurses organized a sit-in in front of the district collectorate on Tuesday under the auspices of the United Nurses’ Association and Students Nurses Association, protesting against the order of collector Mir Muhammed Ali the other day, directing the hospitals to depute nursing students instead of the striking nurses, for duty. Later, leaders of the organization also held discussions with the collector, but failed to yield any results. District collector Mir Muhammed Ali has refused to change his stand and repeal the order. The nursing staff and students also decided to intensify the agitation.

Though there were protests from various quarters against the move, the collector refused to withdraw the order, but directed that only final year nursing students be deputed for duty. But no students turned up for duty in hospitals other than in those which have their own nursing colleges. The students of Pariyaram Medical College had started the strike on Tuesday morning boycotting classes. The nurses’ organizations had declared that they would continue the agitation till the collector withdrew the order which was in violation of laws and issued without commonsense. The students also submitted complaints to the Indian Nurses’ Association, Kerala Nursing Council and Indian Nursing Council.  

In Kasargod and Kozhikode, parents of striking nursing staff had threatened to take to the streets if the government failed to settle the agitation of nurses in the conciliatory meeting to be held on July 28. Meanwhile CPM and CPI, the major constituents of the LDF came out against the order of the district collector. CPM district secretary P Jayarajan told reporters that the order of the collector was improper. “It would have serious ramifications in future”, P Jayarajan said. CPI Kannur district secretary P Santhoshkumar told reporters that the order was against the policy of the LDF. “This is not the way to deal with an agitation which should have been settled in an amicable way,” he said.