Chiz Escudero Said NO to CHED’s Additional Year for Nursing Education

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Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero has expressed concern over CHED’s plan to add another year to the nursing education.

“I am against adding another year for nursing, or for any other course,” the feisty senator said in a press statement a few days back. “Our nurses are being praised all over the world. Why in the world does CHED want to change what is not broken?” he asked.

Escudero said the CHED should instead weed out diploma mills that have proliferated due to the increase in the number of students wanting to take up nursing. He also called for stricter supervision of nursing review centers.

Prior to this, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines and the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations has already expressed their opinion against the CHED’s plan. Escudero said that making nursing a five-year course would mean an additional financial burden to parents and students.

Based on current figures, each nursing student needs about P100,000 annually for tuition fees plus textbooks, excluding review courses. Adding another year to the nursing course will make it more expensive to the parents that set aside a budget for the education of their children to the detriment of other basic family needs such as food and buying a new home.