EDITORIAL — Sacrificing quality for mediocrity

If the administration is serious in upgrading the quality of Philippine education, it should listen to the health experts who resigned en masse the other day from the Technical Committee on Nursing Education of the Commission on Higher Education.

The members, led by Marilyn Lorenzo, director of the University of the Philippines’ Institute of Health Policy and Development, said CHED had failed to act on their recommendations to upgrade the quality of nursing education and uphold the integrity of the nursing profession. The members of the technical committee, who help CHED uphold nursing standards, believe the commission has "buckled down to pressure from vested political and economic interests, sacrificing quality for mediocrity and business interests."

The resignation comes on the heels of complaints that questions were leaked in the latest professional board examinations for nursing. It is the latest in a string of controversies that has rocked medical and nursing schools over the years, all centering on the quality of education provided by institutions that have responded to the great demand for nursing courses.

That demand is in response to the shortage of nurses around the world. Philippine nurses are all over the planet, earning many times more than what hospitals in their country can offer. This is good for their families and the Philippines’ fiscal position but bad for the country’s public health care system. Several private hospitals have already been forced to shut down due to lack of doctors and nurses. Experts have warned of a health care crisis if the exodus of health professionals is not stopped.

Whether nurses are going abroad or opting to stay in their own country, the quality of nursing education and services cannot deteriorate. Other countries are sending nurses abroad, and mediocrity quickly shows when there’s competition. Nursing schools will feel it when the global demand for Philippine nurses drops. And the country, despite its dire need for nurses, must not settle for mediocrity. Authorities must deal decisively with the latest scandals in the nursing profession. The administration must stop merely paying lip service to quality education.