Ensuring quality nursing colleges

Star: THE Higher Education Ministry has recently completed an audit of all 24 nursing colleges in the country to ensure standards are maintained.
Its minister, Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, said the audit found that there were two main problems among some of the nursing colleges.
“One problem is that several colleges take in more students than the allowed quota according to the lecturer-students ratio.
“We have to be strict about this as we are dealing with life and death situations,” he told reporters after opening PNC International College of Nursing and Health Sciences' new campus at Kota Seriemas in Nilai on Tuesday.
The audit also found that one college had taken in unqualified students for its nursing diploma programme, he added.
Any student who wants to complete a diploma in nursing must have five Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia credits in Bahasa Malaysia, English, Mathematics, Science and one more subject.
Mustapa said his ministry worked closely with the Nursing Board Malaysia to ensure the quality of the nursing colleges.
KPJ Healthcare Bhd managing director and PNC International College of Nursing and Health Sciences adviser Datin Paduka Siti Sa'diah Sheikh Bakir said the new campus would provide quality nursing and allied health training services for both local and international students.
“PNC, a wholly owned subsidiary of KPJ, which is a core division of Johor Corporation, began in 1991 with the simple vision of training local nurses for our group's hospitals,” she said.
She said there were now 17 local hospitals under KPJ with more than 2,000 beds and 5,500 employees.