JENPAS UG vs ANM and GNM 2026: Which West Bengal Nursing Exam to Take

WBJEEB runs two separate entrance exams for nursing in West Bengal, a week apart and easily confused. JENPAS(UG) leads to B.Sc Nursing and 12 other degree courses. The ANM(R) & GNM exam leads to the two-year Auxiliary Nursing & Midwifery (Revised) course and the three-year General Nursing & Midwifery course. They have different papers, different fees, different residence rules and different gender rules. This guide puts the two 2026 bulletins side by side so you can decide which to sit — or whether to sit both.

JENPAS(UG)-2026 and ANM(R) & GNM-2026 bulletins.

Some pages give only the Rs 300 ANM & GNM fee. The bulletin charges Rs 300 to SC, ST, OBC-A, OBC-B, EWS and orphan candidates and Rs 400 to everyone else.

The ANM & GNM paper is weighted heavily to Life Science (50 of 115 marks) at Class 10 level, with Mathematics and General Knowledge that JENPAS Paper-I does not have. JENPAS Paper-I spreads 75 marks evenly over Class 11–12 Physics, Chemistry and Biology and adds Health Aptitude. A student preparing for JENPAS is well covered for the ANM & GNM science sections; the reverse is not true. What JENPAS preparation does not cover is the ANM & GNM Mathematics and General Knowledge sections, 20 marks between them, and those need their own revision — Class 10 arithmetic and algebra for Mathematics, and Class 12-level current and static general knowledge. The two exams were a week apart in 2026, so sitting both is practical.

The residence rule is the sharpest difference. JENPAS accepts a candidate whose parent is a permanent resident even if the candidate has not lived in the state for ten years; the ANM & GNM bulletin asks for ten years of uninterrupted permanent residence and has no parental alternative. The ANM & GNM route is also the only one open to a Class 12 Arts or Commerce student who wants to nurse — JENPAS nursing needs Physics, Chemistry and Biology — and GNM is the only government route for men.

On the 40% ANM & GNM aggregate, "5% of total marks is relaxed" reads as 35% for SC, ST and OBC candidates; that is our reading of the bulletin's wording.

Both exams start with the same rule — fewer negative marks in total ranks higher — and then look at the heaviest science section. After that they differ, because the papers differ.

The ANM & GNM exam publishes two separate General Merit Ranks from the one paper — one for ANM(R), one for GNM — and, like JENPAS, allots seats on the General Merit Rank only; category ranks are for information. Neither exam publishes a rank list; each candidate downloads a rank card.

The stipend line is worth reading carefully: it applies to ANM(R) in government institutes, it is stated "as per the existing Govt. Rule", and it says nothing about GNM. An admitted candidate who fails to join training on the notified date loses the seat to the next candidate, with no individual reminder — the bulletin puts the burden of following the institute's notices on the student.

What you are choosing between is a degree (B.Sc Nursing) and a diploma (GNM, three years) or a shorter auxiliary course (ANM(R), two years). The bulletins do not compare careers, and we do not quote salaries or promotion rules here because none of our sources states them. What the documents do show is the entry bar: B.Sc Nursing in a government college needed a 2026 General Merit Rank of 3,069 or better even in the last college; private nursing seats went as deep as rank 25,385.

The 2027 bulletins are not out. In 2026 both were released in March for June exams; if that repeats, expect both applications around March–April 2027 — our inference, not a WBJEEB date.