Headlines
State agencies take charge of Kerala nurses' recruitment
Thiruvananthapuram, March 19
In a relief to
Kerala nurses who seek employment in the Middle East, two state-owned
agencies have been awarded full rights over their recruitment, which was
earlier handled by private firms.
The new directive from the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs came late Wednesday.
It
said that from April 30 onwards, state-owned Overseas Development and
Employment Promotion Consultants (ODEPC) and Roots-Norka, the agency
that looks after the welfare of the Kerala diaspora, will be in-charge
of the recruitment.
"I just do not know what to say about this
wonderful news. I was moving heaven and earth to borrow money from
several people so that my daughter could pay the recruitment fees to a
private agency for a nurse job in Kuwait," said Kunjumon Thomas, a
driver who makes a living by driving private vehicles in Thiruvalla.
"I do not know whom to thank as we have saved close to Rs.1.6 million," he added.
State
Minister for Labour Shibu Baby John, under whom ODEPC operates, told
IANS that along with state Minister for Diaspora K.C. Joseph, they will
hold a joint meeting with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Tuesday to get
down to business.
"This is new development which will bring
cheer to the nurses... We will only charge the bare minimum as service
charges to meet our expenses," said John.
According to figures
provided by the state-owned Kerala State Nursing Council that provides
registration to nurses, fresh registration is given to more than 20,000
nurses every year.
A nurse, who did not wish to be identified,
said the recruitment fees for nurses who wish to go to Libya and Iraq
was around Rs.2 lakh to Rs.4 lakh, while the same was above Rs.1.5
million for nurses who wish to work in Kuwait.
"Now with this new
directive, there will be a rush of nurses to the Middle East...," the
nurse said, adding certifications are required today to apply to the
UAE, Oman and other Gulf countries.
John told IANS that his
department is now ready to equip the aspiring nurses with these new
certifications as it has set up Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence
(KASE), the first of its kind in the country.
The department has
also signed up with SUT-NMC group of hospitals for setting up the
KASE-Centre of Excellence in Nursing in the capital city.
"Starting
in May, nurses who wish to get these certifications can join these
courses which will extend up to a maximum of six months. In the centre,
world class value addition to their existing skills would be provided
and once they pass this, this would be a ticket to a well paying nurses
job in the Middle East," added John.
Studies done on the Kerala
diaspora by the Centre for Development Studies here say that 15 percent
of the migrants (over 23 lakh) are from Kerala, of whom nurses form a
huge majority.
The total remittance of non-resident Keralites to Kerala is now more than Rs.90,000 crore.