Cavite Representative Elpidio Barzaga is urging the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to lift the 11-year ban on new nursing programs to expand workforce in the country amid COVID-19 pandemic.
This, after CHED has allegedly refused to act on Barzaga’s request to allow the newly opened Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Dasmariñas to open a nursing program in the province.
In the report of Philippine News Agency, Barzaga said that shortage of nurses in the future will present an acute and dramatic escalation on the national and global level.
Barzaga even cited a report from State of the World’s Nursing 2020 of World Health Organization (WHO) that there’s a possible shortfall of 4.6 million nurses worldwide by 2030.
“We’re still in a pandemic and we’ve seen how badly we need more nurses and health workers as we continue to battle Covid-19. The CHED’s stubbornness is hurting the country; this is unthinkable,” Barzaga said.
Barzaga also emphasizes that banning nursing programs in Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Dasmarinas will do more harm than good, especially since the public college was established with the intention of providing educational opportunities to poor but intelligent students in the city.
“We cannot surrender the future of the country’s nursing workforce to the whims and caprices of some individuals. The country needs a CHED chairman who takes time to study and understand the real situation on the ground,” Barzaga added.
CHED in 2010 issued Memorandum Order No. 32 to impose a moratorium on the opening of all undergraduate and graduate programs in Nursing, Business Administration, Teacher Education, Hotel and Restaurant Management and Information Technology effective school year 2011-2012.
Photo by Asia Media International
