PNMC approves 55 nursing colleges after council reconstitution

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council (PNMC) has approved the registration of 55 nursing colleges after its reconstitution, while four institutions that had remained unregistered were granted registration after four years following payment of fines amounting to millions of rupees.

Speaking at a press conference at the PNMC headquarters, Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said the previous nursing council had been marred by corruption and that its regulatory role had effectively remained stalled for years. He said the newly formed council had started clearing a large backlog of pending matters and was introducing measures aimed at improving transparency and accountability.

Kamal said Pakistan needed around 900,000 nurses but currently had only about 6,000. He added that a neighbouring country had approximately 600,000 nurses, while the global shortfall of nurses stood at 2.5 million.

The minister alleged that the former president of the council held a fake degree and said the earlier council elections had also been fraudulent. He further claimed that the former president and deputy registrar had turned the institution into a mafia-like network, where colleges seeking approvals were allegedly asked for millions of rupees.

Referring to difficulties faced by the new setup, Kamal said the new administration had initially been stopped from taking charge despite court orders. He also said the government had introduced an ordinance to break what he described as a corrupt network and to change the council’s governance structure.

Addressing the allegations and his stance on accountability, Kamal said: "If I wanted corruption, why wouldn’t I have remained friends with the old administration? They were a money-making machine,"

He also said: “Bring evidence. Show me a receipt even for a cup of tea, and if I do not take disciplinary action, then I am guilty.”

According to the minister, the revised framework makes the council’s president a Grade-22 officer responsible for administrative decisions, and a new 19-member council has already been formed. He said that even if the ordinance were to expire, decisions taken while it remained in force would continue to have legal protection through cover available under the superior courts.

Kamal said no nursing college had been registered after March 2025 and that applications from 425 colleges were still awaiting inspection. He added that the inspection cell had effectively remained inactive for two years.

President Asif Ali Zardari had approved the Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council Bill, 2026.