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Feb 22, 2008

CoA tells CHEd: Shut down bad nursing schools

February 22, 2008 18:43:00
Jerry E. Esplanada
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines -- The Commission on Audit has urged the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) to phase out the nursing programs in colleges and universities whose graduates perform badly in state licensure examinations.

In a report to acting CHEd Chair Romulo Neri, the CoA said it was necessary for the CHEd to exercise its regulatory function to “maintain and protect standards set to ensure the quality of nursing graduates.”

“From 2001 to 2005, only 111 of 263 nursing schools nationwide managed to have 50 percent of their nursing graduates pass the licensure examinations (conducted by the Professional Regulation Commission),” said the report, a copy of which was obtained by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.

Citing records of the Management Information Service Division of CHEd, the CoA reported that 35 of the 111 nursing schools (with a 50-percent passing rate) were located in Metro Manila.

The CoA did not identify the schools but said they were located in the following regions: Ilocos (1); Cagayan Valley (6); Central Luzon (8); Southern Tagalog (8); Bicol (3); Western Visayas (9); Central Visayas (10); Eastern Visayas (5); Western Mindanao (3); Northern Mindanao (3); Davao region (6); Socsksargen (6); Cordillera Administrative Region (4); Caraga (2) and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (2).

Worse, at least 19 or 7.22 percent of these schools had “failed to pass even a single student,” said the CoA.

The CoA said the schools without single passing graduate were located in, among other regions, Bicol (4), Southern Tagalog (4), Central Luzon (3) and Ilocos (2).

In 108 nursing schools nationwide, only 25 to 50 percent of graduates passed the PRC nursing board examinations, the CoA said.

At least 22 of these schools are in Metro Manila, 14 in Ilocos, 12 in Bicol while 11 are in Southern Tagalog.

The CoA pointed out that in the last 10 years not a single nursing school whose graduates fared badly in PRC exams had been closed by the CHEd.

The CHEd has “only phased out courses like accounting, chemistry, civil, chemical, electrical and agricultural engineering, and customs administration.”

This, the CoA noted, was apparently due to the “inadequate imposition of CHEd’s regulatory powers.”

“Thus, schools with poor quality nursing education continue to proliferate and consequently affect their global competitiveness,” the CoA noted.

The CoA warned that CHEd’s non-exercise of its regulatory function of closing down the nursing programs of schools with poor performance may contribute to the continued deterioration of quality nursing education in the country.

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