Home ›› 05 Nov 2021 ›› Nation
Cox’s Bazar Nursing and Midwifery College, formerly known as the Nursing Institute, has been suffering from deteriorating infrastructure and an acute shortage of instructors and staff for more than two decades.
Beginning its journey in 1994 with only 40 students in the west side of Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital, the institute is currently operating in a two-storey academic and three-storey hostel buildings with a library, classrooms and offices on about 80 acres of land.
The government upgraded the institution to a college in 2001, and granted approval for hiring 24 employees and admitting up to 120 students for three-year courses.
The college, in addition, is admitting 25 students in the newly launched Diploma in Midwifery course.
Its hostel can accommodate about 120 students in 30 rooms. Though the number of students has increased, the institute is being run by only three instructors and a handful of staff.
Currently, there is only one in-charge, two instructors, one housekeeper, one treasurer, one MLSS, one cleaner and one guard in this college. In the college buildings, water leaks from the ceiling and falls on burning stoves. The floors remain damp throughout the day.
A number of students say it becomes impossible to stay in hostel rooms whenever it rains. The classrooms have the same problem. Damp walls caused by leakage are causing frequent short circuits in the wiring of these buildings, causing electric shock to anyone touching the light or fan switches.
Most of the window glasses are broken, and the iron frames are rusted. The toilets are jammed.
As the windows facing the Chest Disease Hospital and EPI Centre are broken, valuables including mobile phones and clothes are being stolen from the hostel rooms, said Cox’s Bazar Nursing and Midwifery College’s Nursing Instructor in-charge Karuna Rani Bepari.
She added, “We previously sent a demand letter to the Department of Public Works in 2019 to fix the buildings’ problems. But instead of fixing major issues, the department did some unnecessary work at the end of the fiscal year 2020-21.
“They did not listen to me even though I asked them to fix the fan-lights as the damaged roof has been leaking.”
Delwar Hossain, executive engineer of the Health Engineering Department in Cox’s Bazar, said, “We started work in Cox’s Bazar last year. Cox’s Bazar Nursing and Midwifery College requested fixing of some issues. Work will begin following permission from the ministry.”
Cox’s Bazar Public Works Department Executive Engineer Imtiaz Ahmed said, “Work is done in concerned institutions as per the demand.”
He also said the complaints of Cox’s Bazar Nursing and Midwifery College will be investigated.
