Girl students of a Christian nursing institute in Tamil Nadu have accused the management of forcing them to attend prayer meetings. Allegations of not conducting classes properly have also been leveled against the institute. 

7 girl students who enrolled at the Gideon ‘Nursing College’ in Salem for Diploma Nursing Training Program have accused the institute of forcing them to attend Christian prayer sessions. Natives of Tiruvannamalai district, the girls submitted a petition to the Salem District Collector seeking action against the institute. They said that they enrolled in the Diploma Nursing program, but classes are not conducted properly.

“We are forced to participate in the Sunday prayer meetings. They are forcing us to pay a fine of Rs 200 if we refuse to attend the prayer meetings. We don’t want to continue in this ‘college’. The district administration should help us get back our mark sheets and Transfer Certificates as we want to pursue studies at our native place”.

Tamil daily Dinamalar reported that upon being inquired about the issue, ‘Assistant Professor’ Jenifer said, “We conduct Prayer meetings and theory classes on Sundays. Those who wish can attend. We do not compel anyone”. When Hindu Post tried to find information about this so-called ‘Nursing College’ we found that it actually claims to be a Skill Development Training Centre. We were shocked to find even that is fake, as it is not a registered Skill Development Centre either.

Is it really a college?

A name board of the ‘college’ available on the internet says that it is “Affiliated by Govt of India NCVRT/TN/2325/VTC” and that it is run by one “Bright Victoriously Trust”. The National Council of Vocational and Research Training’s (NCVRT) website says that it is a “constituent board of NCVRT Vocational Education Council established by articles 29 and 30(1) of the constitution”. It claims to have been accredited by one International Quality Standards for Vocational Education Council(IQSVEC). Both are Section 8 companies registered under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the directors of NCVRT and the directors of the IQSVEC are the same, even though the latter might sound like some international body of accreditation.

“Established by articles 29 and 30(1)” would mean that NCVRT is a minority institution. Its website says that the courses offered by the affiliated Vocational Training Centres(VTC) are certified by IQSVEC. It functions like a government body, distributing licenses for establishing new VTCs, running zonal offices throughout the country, and issuing certificates for diploma courses. It offers a range of diploma courses including “NGO management”. 

The website has the logo of a number of international organisations such as the World Youth Skill Council, USA Youth Skill, Srilanka Plumbing Council, etc. We tried digging into these organisations and found nothing. It appears to be an attempt to dupe people into believing that NCVRT is in a tie-up with such organisations to provide employment.

Scamming in the Name of Vocational Training

In May 2017, NCVRT was in the news when a social activist filed a PIL in Madras High Court seeking to seal unauthorised nursing homes. The PIL said, “such institutions were mostly functioning in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam districts and claimed to have got approval from BSS (Bharathiya Seva Samaj) and NCVRT (National Council for Vocational Research and Training), which were not empowered to grant such approval”. The petitioner, an advocate, pointed out to the court that “BSS and NCVRT were neither the governing body nor state machinery and instead were private organisations like a private trust”.

NCVRT has been issuing licenses to so-called nursing colleges, aka VTCs, even though it doesn’t come under the purview of the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947. The PIL had pointed out that VTCs run with the ‘approval’ of NCVRT and other such fake bodies, get subsidies from the state and central governments for enrolling SC/ST students. The Madras HC had sought the response of the Indian Nursing Council and Tamil Nadu Nurses and Midwives Council while hearing the PIL. It is unclear what followed as fake institutes still operate with the ‘approval’ of NCVRT.

In December 2017, a student who was swindled by such fake institutes filed a petition in the Madurai bench of Madras HC. The court had directed concerned authorities to inspect such ‘institutes’, following which health department officials led a crackdown. A TOI report says paramedical and nursing ‘institutes’ in 12 districts were raided and they found one Raja College of Paramedical Science at Srivilliputhur, run by one Christopher Xavier, having an ‘approval’ from NCVRT. 

Being medical professionals, they were only concerned about the paramedical courses offered by the ‘institute’ is appears. The authorities sealed some ‘institutes’ for not having the proper license, infrastructure and other prerequisites. An officer noted that these ‘institutes’ collected all kinds of fees from students but sent them to rural hospitals for ‘training’. The meagre salary provided by the hospitals is pocketed by these ‘institutes’ and students who want to drop out are asked to pay lakhs to get their original certificates back. We can see a similar trend in the issue of Gideon Vocational Training Centre as well.

Government officials appear to be oblivious to such a huge scam happening all over the country. Lakhs of youth lives are at stake and it is evident that such ‘institutes’ also operate as conversion centres. This is one of the many ways Christianity and the church strike down on Hindu society and Bharat, a classic case of poking one’s eyes with one’s own fingers.