Karnataka orders closure of Auxiliary Nursing Midwife courses, ANMTC centres

Karnataka has decided to close all Auxiliary Nursing Midwife Training Centers (ANMTC) and suspend the two-year Auxiliary Nursing Midwife (ANM) courses in the State from the academic year 2026-27. The government has issued an order in this regard on April 28, 2025, and instructed the already enrolled students to opt for B.Sc. Nursing/General Nursing and Midwife (GNM) course instead.

There some apprehension that the move could impact Primary Health Care (PHC) centers and healthcare services in rural areas. This has also left ANM students worried.

Self-declaration letters

To avoid legal complications, all students have been asked to submit consent letters or self-declaration stating that they are “voluntarily” joining the diploma nursing. While self-declaration letters have been obtained from many students, some have objected to this.

There are a total of 20 ANMTC in the State, with an admission of 30 students per each centre, with a total of 600 seats. Currently, a total of 430 students are enrolled in them for 2025-26 and a total of 83 staff are working.

“In the future, it is intended to remove the ANM qualification for posts through amendments in the Primary Health Care Officer (PHCO) cadre and recruitment rules. It is intended to make the ANM students in the 20 ANMTC centers aware of this and suggest them to opt to the B.Sc GNM course, in the nearest government BSc Nursing / GNM colleges for training. And to close the ANMTC centers with fewer candidates and shift them to the nearest ANMTC centers,” said the order.

Speaking to The Hindu, Uma Buggi, Director, State Institute of Health & Family Welfare said, “Nursing job opportunities for those who have done ANM courses are less. In addition, the number of students enrolling in ANM courses is declining year by year. Therefore, the government has decided to close these course and ANMTC centers in a phased manner. It has been decided to shift the students who are already enrolled in ANM courses for three-years GNM courses.”

Students’ concerns

A student unhappy with the decision said, “The term of the ANM course is two years. There is also an opportunity to study in Kannada medium. However, GNM is a three-years course with English medium only. It is difficult for us who came from rural areas and studied in Kannada medium. When the application was called in November 2024 for ANM Course, we left the degree college and came here. If the government had taken this decision before the application was called, we would have continued our studies there. Now it seems like neither there nor here.”

Responding to this Ms. Buggi said that at the initial stage, English medium may be difficult. But in future, this is a good decision, so students will be persuaded to opt the GNM course.

Responding to a question whether the closure of ANM courses will not affect PHCs and rural medical health services, she said that in the coming days, there is a proposal to appoint GNM nurses to PHCs and rural services. “The government will take an appropriate decision in this regard,” she added.