Chennai: Permitting the intake of students for BSc and MSc courses above the number of available seats, conducting meetings without a quorum, and granting permission to run institutions without basic infrastructure facilities were a few among 22 allegations that the Tamil Nadu Nurses and Midwives Council put forth against the Registrar of the Council and Nursing Adviser (Government of India), Dr. G. Josephine R. Little Flower. With a number of allegations against her, she was asked to step down from the post as Registrar and is awaiting further notice from the council following a committee meeting that is to be held soon.
“The charges against Dr Josephine have been framed. We are yet to form a team comprising members decided by the Council committee. Only after the committee report is prepared, can we decide what the course of action will be,” said Director, Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services (DMS) and President of the Council, Dr. K. Senguttuvan.
Dr Josephine was appointed as the Deputy Registrar of the Council in July 2003, and Registrar in December 2004. “Various charges were brought against her, alleging corrupt practices since her appointment as Deputy Registrar, and it was informed to the Government,” said an official from the Council.
Based on repeated complaints received against her, connected records and reports related to the complaints were verified. ‘Her involvement in running the administration went against the inbuilt system of the institution and violation of well established Acts, Rules and By-laws of the Council,’ said a letter written by the President of the Council under the subject ‘Corruption and malpractices by Dr. G. Josephine R. Little Flower’, sent to various officials in the Union and state Ministry.
Following a detailed discussion by members of the Council, who took note of the intensity of the allegations, it was unanimously decided that she cease from the services of the Council with effect from March 21, 2017.
“It was known that I would be returning in six moths, which is why these allegations were put forth against me. How can there be such lapses, when I, as the Registrar, was an authorized signatory of the Council?” she asked.
