The federal government has imposed a temporary six-month ban on establishing new nursing and midwifery institutions across Pakistan.
The Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council (PNMC) has issued official notifications about the decision to federal and provincial governments.
The decision will let authorities temporarily stop accepting new inspection requests from institutions planning to offer nursing or midwifery education.
The PNMC will not accept or process fresh inspection applications for new nursing and midwifery institutions, under the new restriction.
The temporary ban will remain in place for six months. The council will focus on reviewing and completing applications that are already pending during this phase.
The move is expected to reduce the administrative workload and help officials address outstanding cases.
Institutions that have already submitted their applications will not be affected by the suspension of new requests.
However, those planning to establish new nursing or midwifery colleges will have to wait until the restriction ends.
Additionally, new applications will only be accepted following approval from the competent authority, even after six months.
However, the restriction mainly affects organisations seeking permission to establish new nursing and midwifery institutions.
It does not mean that existing recognised nursing colleges must close or stop offering their programmes.
The PNMC is responsible for regulating nursing and midwifery education and professional standards in Pakistan.
Its responsibilities include overseeing educational requirements and ensuring that institutions meet the relevant standards.
The temporary restriction gives the council time to deal with pending inspection requests before considering new institutions.
However, applicants are advised to confirm that their chosen institution and programme have the required recognition.
The council has not announced the exact number of pending cases or a detailed schedule for clearing them.
