Review centers with no nursing schools will be closed, CHED warns

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) threatens to close nursing review centers that do not have nursing schools as the agency finalizes regulations for review centers following the leakage in the recent nursing board examination.

CHED Chairman Carlito Puno said all review centers that fail to comply with the new implementing rules and regulations (IRR) will be shut down.

He said only nursing schools will be allowed to operate review centers for nursing graduates while CHED will not renew the permits of review centers that do not have nursing schools, even R. A. Gapuz Review Center (RAGRC), one of the biggest review centers for nursing graduates in the country.

"Tagilid sila (RAGRC)," Puno told reporters before leaving for India on Wednesday for an official assignment.

He said review centers that fail to comply with the stricter requirement will not be given permits.

Puno said the IRR will be finished before the end of the year and CHED will evaluate the applications for renewal of permits of all the nursing review centers.

President Arroyo had issued on Sept. 8 Executive Order No. 566, directing CHED to regulate the operations of review centers.

EO 566 mandates CHED to also periodically review performance of the review centers and similar entities and shall make a report to the Office of the President the results of the evaluation and monitoring.

The President issued the order after the controversy broke out over the leakage in the last nursing board examinations.

Among the review centers that were investigated was the RAGRC. The RAGRC had denied all allegations and said they have been cleared of any involvement in the leak of test questions in the last nursing test.