Nurses in Churachandpur Fear Missing NORCET examination, Demand Exam Centre in District

Many working Nurses in Churachandpur are likely to miss the upcoming Nursing Officer Recruitment Common Eligibility Test (NORCET) 11 examination, as the examination centre for Manipur has been allocated only in Imphal.

Around 150–200 registered nurses in Churachandpur are preparing for the examination. However, the majority of them have given up on appearing for the exam as they are in no position to travel to Imphal, given the prevailing situation in Manipur.

Besides Imphal, the nearest examination centre is in Aizawl, Mizoram.

However, many of the nurses have decided to skip the examination. Most of them are working nurses, and travelling to Aizawl for the examination would take at least three to four days, making it difficult for them to attend the exam. Another reason is the financial burden they would incur, including travel and accommodation expenses.

The nurses had even considered staging a democratic protest to demand an examination centre in Churachandpur. However, the plan could not materialise, as many of them are working in different hospitals and have varying duty schedules.

They have approached a few MLAs and the Deputy Commissioner of Churachandpur district. However, they have still not been given an examination centre in Churachandpur.

Nemboiching, a registered nurse who is currently taking a break from work to prepare for NORCET 11, said, “It is one of the most important exams of my life as a registered nurse, and I couldn’t possibly attend it with the fear of not knowing what can happen next. It is far too dangerous to appear for an exam in Imphal.”

Due to the unresolved conflict, she said they would not be able to travel to Imphal, fearing that anything could happen to the general public, even though VIPs can travel.

Nemboiching said, “Our house has been burnt, our families brutally murdered. Can we really go to Imphal to appear for the exam? Most healthcare workers are taught about empathy and mental health. Why is it that, when it is actually time to be empathetic, our cries are not heard? Will the concerned authorities be able to send their loved ones to an enemy’s dinner table to dine with them?”

The second-nearest available examination centre, in Aizawl, is about 384 km from Churachandpur. While the distance may not sound enormous when compared with distances in the plains, it is important to consider the geographical constraints of the area, the nurse said.

Nemboiching said the journey from Churachandpur to Mizoram takes 12–13 hours one way, which places enormous strain on the body, while the travelling expenses are also considerable.

She said she had no choice but to choose Aizawl as her examination centre for now, as she had taken a gap year to prepare for the examination.

Nemboiching said around 150–200 registered nurses from Churachandpur aspire to appear for the NORCET examination in Aizawl, but most of them cannot do so because of time constraints and the high cost of travel and accommodation.

Given the situation, she said only about 15–20 registered nurses from Churachandpur may appear for the upcoming NORCET 11 examination in Aizawl.

The demand of the NORCET aspirants in Churachandpur is for the government to establish a NORCET examination centre in the district so that equal opportunity is provided to all aspiring nurses.

Since the infrastructure required for computer-based test (CBT) examinations is already available, the concerned authorities only need to empathise with the current situation faced by the nurses and provide them with equal opportunities, like those available to people in the plains, she added.

Nemboiching informed that they had approached the concerned MLAs and the Deputy Commissioner of Churachandpur, who had done their part by raising the issue with the concerned authorities.

“However, it is really unfortunate that we have not been given an examination centre here in Churachandpur,” the nurse added.

Another nurse, Chinghoih, said that due to various circumstances, including working in healthcare, economic problems and health issues such as being unable to travel long distances, most of the aspirants did not apply for the examination.

Yuki, a 27-year-old woman currently working as an outsourced nurse at the Tele-ICU, District Hospital, Churachandpur, said she had given up and would not be able to attempt the examination.

The nurses said there are numerous problems with examination centres being located in Imphal or other cities and states for tribal communities living in the Churachandpur area.

Yuki said, “There is no safety and security when travelling to Imphal, there is a financial crisis when travelling to other states (nurses’ salaries are inhumanly low here), there are no leaves for nurses, and some nurses have health issues, motion sickness and other travel problems.”

Due to the conflict, many nurses missed the examination in previous years. Although the age limit is up to 30 years, with an extension to 35 years for candidates belonging to the ST/SC/OBC categories, some nurses have already crossed the age limit in the past one or two years, Yuki said.

She informed that two Kuki-Zo MLAs had written to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Director of AIIMS, New Delhi, but there appears to have been no response.