Bhopal: In an effort to expose the serious irregularities in the Madhya Pradesh State Nursing Council’s online certificate issuance system, a shocking incident is now going viral on social media: within 5 minutes of an application submitted with a donkey’s photograph, a temporary registration certificate for a nurse and midwife was reportedly issued in the name of the “donkey” itself, in proper order.
In that application, the father’s name was listed as “donkey father,” religion as “other,” caste as “animal,” and address as “place available.” A photograph of a donkey had also been uploaded.
After the application was submitted by paying the specified registration fee, the application was reviewed by the State Nursing Council and a digital certificate was generated. It records that the applicant completed B.Sc. Nursing training at Bhopal Nursing College from July 16, 2021, to August 13, 2025.
Amid continuing controversy over fake accreditation and corruption allegations in nursing colleges in Madhya Pradesh, the state vice president of the student organization NSUI, Ravi Parmar, decided to test the credibility of the new website verification system of the state nursing council. Accordingly, a sample application was submitted on the website for nurse registration.
In that application, the applicant’s name was listed as “donkey,” and the parents’ names were given as “donkey father” and “donkey mother.” In addition, the caste category was entered as “animal,” and imaginary details such as “where available” were recorded in the address field. Blank sheets were uploaded in the documents section, and a photograph of a real donkey was uploaded in the photo section.
With such false details, within just 5 minutes of submitting the application after paying the required registration fee, the council issued an official provisional digital certificate in the name of ‘Donkey,’ stating that he had completed B.Sc. Nursing at Bhopal Nursing College, without any direct field inspection or document verification.
The certificate recorded that the applicant had completed B.Sc. Nursing training at Bhopal Nursing College from July 16, 2021, to August 13, 2025. The certificate also mentioned registration as a "Registered Nurse and Registered Midwife" and stated that it was valid until September 2031.
Explaining this, Nursing Council officials said, "In accordance with the Central Government’s guidelines, this automated online system was introduced to make registration transparent, reduce paperwork, and prevent the interference of middlemen.
Once applicants upload their documents, a registration number is generated, after which qualifications and documents are verified online. He said that if fraudulent information, photographs, or documents are detected, the registrations may be canceled within seven to 15 days.
The council has emphasized that applicants themselves are responsible for the authenticity of the information and documents they submit.
Furthermore, they stated, "There is a difference between temporary registration and a permanent certificate. This, which is generated immediately upon submission of the application, is only a temporary registration; this temporary registration is subject to verification by the Nursing Council."
Following this incident, the online registration facility has been temporarily removed from the website. Additional security measures are set to be introduced, and applications and documents that have already been processed will be verified. A data transfer mechanism involving DigiLocker is also being planned. On its website, officials said that the documents attached to registration applications must be verified by the respective college principal. There is also a possibility that a case will be filed against the unidentified person who submitted fraudulent information.
However, this incident has highlighted to the health department the need for strong verification at the very beginning of the online registration process.
This incident has also raised concerns that those holding fake certificates may use such technical loopholes to secure job opportunities in the health sector.
Nevertheless, in the noble medical field that saves human lives, the issuance of certificates without even detecting documents submitted in the name of an animal and with its photograph through the initial technical framework has become a major topic of discussion across the country.
The previous registration process required applicants to submit a wide range of educational documents, including 10th and 12th standard mark sheets, nursing course completion certificates, provisional degrees or diplomas, and academic transcripts. It is noteworthy that these documents were subject to verification and authenticity checks.