Sai opens nursing skills college in Jashpur’s Aara, 120 women join first batch

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai interacts with a nursing trainee beside a patient-care mannequin during a tour of the Nursing Skills College at Aara in Jashpur district on 15 November 2026.Photo: [primelookindia.com via CG/CMO

The college offers a two-year Auxiliary Nurse Midwife course with practical training and hostel facilities. Around 90 per cent of its first batch are from tribal communities and socio-economically disadvantaged groups.

Key Highlights

• Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai inaugurated the Nursing Skills College at Aara gram panchayat in Jashpur district on 15 November 2026.
• All 120 seats in the inaugural batch of the two-year Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) course have been filled.
• The college has laboratories and hostel facilities, with arrangements to connect graduates with employment opportunities at hospitals and other healthcare institutions.
• The institute was established through the Prachet Foundation, a non-profit joint venture between the Chhattisgarh government and the Pan IIT Alumni Reach for India Foundation.

Jashpur: Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai inaugurated the Nursing Skills College at Aara gram panchayat in Jashpur district on Sunday, opening a route into healthcare for 120 women enrolled in its first batch. Around 90 per cent of the students are from tribal communities and socio-economically disadvantaged groups.

Sai met trainees and toured the college’s laboratories, including a clinical training area where students practise patient care using mannequins. Addressing the first batch, he urged students to approach their training with discipline and to develop the compassion and judgement they would need when caring for patients.

“Nursing is more than a means of earning a living. It is a noble way to serve humanity,” Sai said. He spoke of the role nurses play alongside doctors, from monitoring patients during treatment to providing the day-to-day care that supports recovery.

Two-year course combines classroom study with practical training

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai greets nursing trainees in the computer laboratory during the inauguration of the Nursing Skills College at Aara in Jashpur district on 15 November 2026.Photo:primelookindia.com via CG/CMO

The college offers a two-year Auxiliary Nurse Midwife course. Its laboratories give students a place to practise what they learn in class, while hostel facilities allow them to live on campus during training. Students who successfully complete the course will receive support in accessing employment opportunities at hospitals and other healthcare institutions.

The Chhattisgarh government and the Pan IIT Alumni Reach for India Foundation established the college through the Prachet Foundation. The non-profit joint venture provides vocational training and institutional support to disadvantaged young people, women and members of the transgender community, including people from tribal communities.

Sai thanked the Pan IIT Alumni team for its role in establishing and running the college and congratulated the first batch. Jashpur MLA Raimuni Bhagat also addressed the gathering and wished the trainees success.

Sai links nursing education to wider healthcare expansion

Sai said expanding medical education and training more nursing personnel were part of the state’s effort to improve access to healthcare. He said Chhattisgarh had one medical college when the state was formed and now had more than 15. Five new medical colleges were being started this year, he said.

The Chief Minister also placed the Aara initiative within the state’s development plans for 2047. He said improved security in areas previously affected by Maoist violence was creating opportunities to extend education, healthcare and employment services to remote and tribal communities.

Opening coincides with Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas and Chhath

The college opened on Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, observed on Bhagwan Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary, and during Chhath Mahaparv. Sai recalled the state-level Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas ceremony held earlier in Dharamjaigarh, Raigarh district, and extended greetings for both occasions.

Municipal Council chairperson Arvind Bhagat, Jashpur Janpad Panchayat chairperson Gangaram Bhagat, Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Lal Umed Singh, college representatives and trainees attended the inauguration.