A nursing college in Bajaur district, launched nearly 19 years ago, is still waiting for educational activities to begin despite having a building, classrooms and laboratory equipment.

The project was intended to provide nursing education to female students in Bajaur and help address the shortage of trained nursing staff across the merged tribal districts. However, nearly two decades later, the goal has yet to become a reality.

The college building is complete, classrooms are available and laboratory equipment is in place, but the institution has never started the academic activities for which it was built.

Closed doors, silent corridors and empty classrooms tell the story of a project on which public funds were spent but which has yet to provide practical benefits to the local population.

According to local Member of the Provincial Assembly Dr Hamid-ur-Rehman, the institution was established in 2007 under the FATA Secretariat. However, due to the poor law and order situation in the area at the time, further progress on the project could not be made.

Later, Khyber Medical University also tried to make the institution operational as one of its campuses. However, the issue of fees made the proposal less feasible for the local population.

Dr Hamid-ur-Rehman said he raised the issue several times in the provincial assembly and also submitted call-attention notices. The matter was discussed in detail by the relevant standing committee.

He said he also discussed the issue with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, after which a team from the Professional Health Sciences Authority (PHSA) visited the nursing college. There are now hopes that the institution will be made operational under PHSA.

Speaking to TNN, Bajaur District Health Officer Dr Gohar Ayub confirmed that PHSA officials recently visited the nursing college and expressed hope that it would soon become operational and begin academic activities.

He said affiliation has been one of the major hurdles in making the college functional.

According to Dr Gohar Ayub, Khyber Medical University had previously made efforts to activate the nursing college, but affiliation with the university could have resulted in higher fees, creating difficulties for local students.

He said many families in Bajaur have limited financial resources, and if the college operated with high fees, students from poor and middle-class families would not be able to fully benefit from the facility.

Dr Gohar Ayub said efforts are therefore being made to reactivate the college through PHSA so that local students can study nursing without a heavy financial burden.

He added that the health department has completed the necessary documentation. If the college becomes operational, thousands of students, particularly local youth, could benefit from the institution, while new opportunities for nursing education and employment could also be created in the area.

Bajaur and other merged tribal districts are already facing a shortage of trained nursing staff in the health sector. Limited nursing staff in government hospitals creates difficulties for patients, particularly women and children. In such a situation, a local nursing education institution could become more than just an educational building; it could be an important asset for the entire healthcare system of the region.

If the college had become operational years ago, Bajaur and other merged districts might have had access to locally trained nurses. It could also have created employment opportunities for young people and helped reduce the shortage of nursing staff at health facilities.

For female students in Bajaur who want to pursue nursing education, the biggest challenge is having to travel to other cities. Student Mahnoor says, “My dream is to become a nurse and serve the people of my area, but because the nursing college in Bajaur is not operational, we have to go to other cities.”

Not every family can afford to send their children to Peshawar or other cities. If the institution becomes operational, hundreds of female students could receive nursing education in their own district.

The issue is not limited to education. Staying in another city, accommodation, travel and other expenses create an additional financial burden for families that are already living on limited incomes.

Social activist Masihullah Danish says the non-functional nursing college is not just an issue concerning an educational institution, but is linked to public funds, the future of young people and the healthcare system.

Speaking to TNN, he said that despite millions of rupees being spent, if a project remains unavailable to the public for nearly two decades, the reasons and responsibility should be determined. He said the government should take practical steps instead of limiting the matter to promises so that young people can access education and employment while the public can receive better healthcare facilities.

Following the situation, an important question remains: why has the nursing college not become fully operational even after nearly 19 years? How much public money was spent on the project, and how far did efforts to make it functional progress under different administrations?

To find answers to these questions and get the institution’s official position, TNN repeatedly contacted the principal of the nursing college. However, the principal did not provide a response by the time the report was prepared.

The nursing college in Bajaur has stood for nearly two decades as a question that has yet to receive a practical answer. On one side, the building exists; on the other, there is a clear need for nursing staff, young people are eager to study, and the government has also expressed plans to make the institution operational. The real test now is to turn these promises into action.

Following the recent visit by PHSA officials, there is renewed hope that the college’s closed doors may finally open. If that happens, it will not simply be the opening of a nursing college; it could mark the beginning of new opportunities for education and employment for young people, particularly female students, in Bajaur.