[GTranslate]TORONTO – The Ontario government applauds Humber College for becoming one of the first publicly funded colleges in the province to offer a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Colleges Minister Ross Romano announced the launch of the course in September. “The pandemic has reminded all of us how valuable our frontline nurses are, as they work very long hours to care for our most vulnerable patients – ford said – we need more of these health care heroes, which is why it’s very important that colleges like Humber open the way by giving students a wider choice while maintaining excellence in nursing education.”

Humber College, which in collaboration with the University of New Brunswick has been offering a nursing degree course for nearly 20 years, officially approved Humber College’s nursing degree program independently on March 4.

In the fall of 2021, Humber College’s new Bachelor of Science in Nursing program will welcome a total of 250 students expected to graduate in 2023 and 2025. “This is an important milestone for post-secondary education in Ontario as Humber becomes one of the first colleges to offer autonomous nursing degrees,” said Ross Romano, minister of colleges and universities, “our government is reducing barriers to access world-class training for our students.”

Ontario’s nursing training model now includes Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs offered at universities, colleges, and through partnerships with universities and colleges. “Nurses play a key role in the healthcare area and throughout the Covid-19 pandemic they have never had hesitation in their commitment to providing high-quality care to patients – said Health Minister Christine Elliott – Humber’s new Bachelor of Nursing Science program will offer more choices to students, maintaining and strengthening a high-quality nursing workforce.”

No mention, during the press conference from the campus of the North Etobicoke College, of the difficult situation of Laurentian University in Sudbury that on February 10 the university declared the state of insolvency, citing more than 300 million debts.

Pressed by a reporter Romano only said that the government will “explore its options” to support the university including the introduction of legislation to ensure greater supervision of the finances of all universities.

Meanwhile, yesterday the cases of Covid-19 in schools in the province reached 367 – 301 students and 66 teachers – raising the total number of infections to 10,421. There are 893 schools with outbreaks of the virus and 27 closed schools.