Private Nursing Colleges in Maharashtra Struggle as 5,500+ Seats Go Vacant

Pune, 27th January 2026: Nursing education, once seen as a secure and respected career path in Maharashtra, has taken a serious hit this academic year, especially in the private sector. While government nursing colleges witnessed a heavy rush of applicants, as many as 47 private nursing colleges across the state failed to attract even 10 students. In a more worrying development, seven private colleges recorded zero admissions, raising questions about the sustainability of private nursing education in Maharashtra.

The state has a total of 294 nursing colleges, including 17 government-run and 277 private institutions. For the current academic year, 16,530 seats were available across these colleges. Government colleges offered 1,180 seats, of which 1,174 were filled, leaving just six seats vacant. This near-full occupancy highlights a clear student preference for government institutions.

In contrast, private nursing colleges offered 15,350 seats but managed to fill only 9,783. As a result, 5,567 seats in private institutions remained vacant, taking the total number of unfilled nursing seats in the state to 5,573. The sharp gap between government and private colleges has left private managements deeply concerned.

Among the 47 colleges with admissions ranging between zero and ten students, seven failed to enrol even a single candidate. These include three colleges in Beed district and one each in Yavatmal, Nanded, Nashik and Thane. Sangli district has the highest number of colleges with fewer than ten admissions, with seven institutions facing this crisis, followed by Ahilyanagar and Kolhapur.

Western Maharashtra has emerged as the worst-affected region. Of the 47 colleges with minimal admissions, 16 are located here, including seven in Sangli, six in Kolhapur, two in Solapur and one in Pune. Marathwada is also seeing a troubling trend, with 12 colleges reporting extremely low admissions. These include four colleges in Beed and one each in Nanded, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Dharashiv, Latur, Jalna and Parbhani.

North Maharashtra has not been spared either. Six colleges in Ahilyanagar and two in Nashik recorded admissions in the range of zero to ten students.

Education experts cite high fees in private colleges, concerns over quality, and a growing inclination towards government institutions as key reasons behind the sharp decline in private nursing admissions. If the trend continues, several private nursing colleges in Maharashtra may face an uncertain future.