Unemployed nurses demand scrapping of recruitment test

The recruitment exam for the nurses was held yesterday amid boycotts by the two nurses associations that had been protesting the new recruitment system through the Public Service Commission (PSC).

“A huge number of candidates appeared in the exam. I thank the PSC for holding the exam peacefully and also the administration and law enforcers,” Health Minister Mohammed Nasim said at a press conference at his Dhanmondi residence yesterday.

A health ministry official said 11,426 candidates or 63 percent of total applicants, appeared for the exam.

Nurses associations, who demonstrated against the exam on the Dhaka Medical College Hospital campus yesterday, however, estimate only 35 percent of the total 18,063 applicants has appeared for it.

“We have visited different exam centres and saw minimal number of candidates,” Nahida Akter, secretary general of Bangladesh Basic Graduate Nurses Society (BBGNS), told The Daily Star by phone yesterday.

She said the BBGNS and the Bangladesh Diploma Unemployed Nurses Association are calling for canceling the examination held with “low attendance”.

“We are collecting evidence. Soon, we will come to the public with evidence of exactly how many have attended,” Nahida said. Unemployed nurses have been demonstrating since early April protesting a PSC circular of March 28 on recruiting 3,616 senior nurses in public hospitals, which says applicants below 36 and attaining Bachelor of Science and diploma in nursing could take the exam. The nurses said the exam prerequisite was unjust because those who attained the educational qualifications a few years back and approaching the age might be left out. They held meetings several times with Nasim who had pledged to arrange a meeting with the prime minister so she could give a decision. Traditionally, nurses were recruited based on results and seniority.

However, Nasim had not kept the promise, which prompted the unemployed nurses to lay siege to his residence on June 1, which was foiled by cops with some 50 nurses getting injured.

Amid such a situation, the exam was held yesterday. The nurses' associations said that they would wage a greater movement, protesting the police atrocities and for canceling the exam held. Health Minister Mohammed Nasim, however, said their movement was illogical as nursing has been upgraded to a second class job, and so they must be recruited through the PSC as per the law.

“If you want to do a government job, you have to abide by the laws,” he said, adding that initially the exam was supposed to be on 1000 marks and written, it was later relaxed to only 200 marks based on multiple choice questions and viva-voce.

Those who have not attended the exam actually lost an opportunity, Nasim said.

He said as per the prime minister's announcement of recruiting 10,000 nurses, the PSC will soon recruit the 3,616 nurses from those who have sat for the exam. The process of recruiting some 7,000 more is underway within 2015-16 fiscal, he added.

Those who have not had a chance this time will have a chance in the near future, Nasim said.