Philippine Daily Inquirer
February 5, 2005
EDITORIAL

QUANTITY OVER QUALITY

Two developments have been brought to the fore once more the woeful state of our education system: one is a finding by the British Council that there are too many colleges and universities that are “diluting” the quality of higher education; and the other is the renewed call to increase the number of years in basic education from 10 to 11 and even 12 in order for the country to be at par with the rest of the world. The call was again made in reaction to reports that among 45 nations whose basic education students were graded in science and mathematics aptitude, the Philippines winded up 44 th .

The call was nothing new. The Presidential Commission on Educational Reform during the Estrada Administration had recommended that another year be added to the basic education program. But it is doubtful whether an added year to basic education would do the trick. Another year of elementary or high school means more resources poured into the educational system, resources that may fall prey to the Pacman instincts of our voracious politicians. Big chunks of additional investments in school buildings, teachers and textbooks may end up in the pockets of pork barrel-hungry politicians and their cronies.

Quantity, it appears, has a doubtful bearing on quality. This is shown by the British Council critique of higher education. While the 1380 universities and colleges all over the country provide easy access to higher education – just as the thousands of public schools that congressmen are fond of establishing provide admittance to basic education to millions – there's no assurance that the quality of education is excellent and responsible. Again the question of resources here is relevant. As Gill Westaway of the British Council said, “ In a country like the Philippines, where resources are scarce, it's better to have e fewer universities with quality rather than allowing hundreds of universities that are diluting the overall quality.”

Obviously there ought to be moratorium on establishment of new colleges and universities, particularly state colleges and universities (SCUs), whose number has grown tremendously since the 1980s, and many of which have charters shielding them from the effective monitoring of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). SCUs have become the favorite creations of national and local politicians. One in Pampanga was reported to have conferred more than a hundred doctorate degrees in a year, outpacing even much bigger and established higher institutions.

Why SCUs continue to grow in number despite the dubious education they provide has something to do with resources. It seems that politicians have found a new way to tap resources by building new schools, which also means new hirings and new allocations for classrooms, supplies and textbooks. Even Calamba has its own university!

How politics is killing our education system is very clear in the political pressure being brought to bear on the CHED to recall its order closing 23 nursing schools nationwide. Several lawmakers led by Las Pinas Rep. Cynthia Villar, head of the House Committee on education, met with CHED officials and demanded they rescind the order.

The CHED, led by its chair, Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P. defended the closure saying it was meant to arrest the decline in nursing education, as proven by the decline in the passing rate of the nursing board exam from 49 percent to 43 percent as well as findings that nearly a fourth of nursing schools had passing rates of less than 30 percent. The order, in fact, has met acclaim here and abroad. Foreign hospitals that rely on the Philippines for nurses have welcomed the move, saying that the quality of nursing education should not be compromised for commercial-and political- interests. But the lawmakers, who two years ago passed the nursing law empowering the CHED and the Board of Nursing Education to do everything to ensure the quality of nursing education, insisted on the recall of the CHED order.

Could the CHED turn to Malacanang for help? Alas, there's no reprieve. Even without hearing the side of the CHED, Malacanang recently ordered the lifting of the ban on a nursing school put up overnight by an influential computer school to capitalize on the nursing frenzy.

The CHED is trying to nurse education back to health. But our lawmakers and Malacanang, who seem to want to nurse their own pockets and shady political ambitions, are pummeling it to death.

February 9, 2005
To the Editor
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Dear Editor,

I write in reference to your editorial on February 5, 2005 .

Please allow me to first focus on the matter of Nursing education in the Philippines —an issue affecting many of our countrymen and their families who are hoping to gain access to opportunities of gainful employment in this field and thereby create a better future for themselves.

I. On the issue of the recall of the CHED's order to close 23 nursing schools, allow me to relay some facts:

•  It was the CHED that manifested on the floor of Congress that it has decided to recall the order on the closure of the 23 nursing schools.

•  Instead, this 23 Nursing schools will be allowed to run the first two years of the Nursing program, pending the fulfillment of the requirement to have a suitable base hospital.

•  The decision of the CHED, as they explained to the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education (CHTE), is based on their review of the nursing curriculum wherein the first two years only require the students to gain training and knowledge on public health, which can be done outside the base hospital.

II. The CHED requires that a training hospital for nurses must be a tertiary hospital. The survey of hospitals nationwide brings to our attention the reality in our country: there are only 144 tertiary hospitals nationwide while there are 1600 cities and towns. To insist on CHED's requirement will deny many students the chance to pursue a career in the field of nursing.

III, Part of the Legislative Agenda of the Committee on Higher and Technical Education of this Congress is to look into the institutionalization of the Ladderized System of Education, which will allow students to gain access to various levels of education and training that will enable them to find work, earn a living, and hopefully, gain financial stability that will allow them to pursue higher studies should they so desire. The US system of education provides for several levels of training and licensure for nurses, to wit: Nurse's Aide, Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), Registered Nurse (RN), and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). This practical approach allows students to gain more immediate and wider access to employment, while at the same time providing them opportunities for the pursuit of higher levels of nursing studies in order to advance their career in their chosen profession. The House Committee on Higher and Technical Education believes that now is the time for the CHED to study the application of a similar system in our country and make education more relevant and pragmatic for the benefit of the people.

Like you, I am disturbed with the drop in quality of education in our schools vis-à-vis our neighboring countries.

Limiting the number of SUCs, however, does not guarantee that overall competence will increase. Perhaps, the notion that limiting their number will allow a more focused allocation of resources and thereby improving quality may hold some water. But what is definite is the decline in the number of Filipinos who are able to gain access to tertiary education.

However, the quantity versus quality of schools and graduates is not the only question that a third world country such as ours has to face. In a world wherein documentation becomes a necessary qualification for livelihood, it is obvious that those with lesser financial means do not primarily choose to be educated but rather to get the necessary paperwork qualification to land a job. Hence, the proliferation of what have been dubbed as “diploma mills”.

This does not mean that these people do not recognize institutions that offer quality education as manifested, for example, in the high regard afforded to graduates of UP, Ateneo, La Salle , UST, etc. But the reality of their available budget and earning capacity, the majority of Filipino students are simply left to be content with the state universities and colleges in their locality or the more affordable private schools.

In a free market such as ours, schools with ill reputations will eventually have to face and bear the consequences of incompetence: that is, declining enrollment and perhaps the eventual closure of their school. In economic theory, it is only a matter of time. Unless, of course, they endeavor to upgrade the quality of their education and raise their passing quotients in professional boards.

In the light of the reality in the current workplace where to be a Metro aide sweeper one is not required to have excellent cleaning abilities but a minimum of a high school diploma or a civil servant desiring to be promoted to a higher post and what would count towards that promotion is not performance alone but a masters degree, we can begin to appreciate why the demand for documents such as certificates and diplomas create the diploma mills. It is also an indictment on our society which places greater value on educational levels that one has passed rather that on the education that one possesses.

When people are poor and are in need of jobs, the tendency is to minimize the cost of education to get a job.

At this point, I wish to respond to the closing statement of the aforementioned editorial accusing”…lawmakers…who seem to want to nurse their own pockets and shady political ambitions are pummeling it to death.

I have been working hard for a living since I finished college. Prior to becoming a public servant, I wanted and achieved financial stability that will provide POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE—to allow me to champion a cause based on its merits and not for financial or political gains. This is a very strong personal issue for me because in my desire to gain financial stability and political independence, I have poured many hours into my work and I have made numerous sacrifices in my personal life, including a lot of family time.

As the Representative of Las Piñas, my record both in the legislative and district work will show that I need not court the favor of any private or personal interest for political gain. I believe that my constituents have thus far been satisfied with my service. I was re-elected in 2004 with ninety five percent of my constituents voting for me.

Let me reiterate that I am fully supportive of maintaining quality and relevant education in our country, while at the same time, finding ways and means to help create livelihood opportunities for our countrymen. It is my hope that the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education can benefit from the knowledge and experience of the experts in the field of higher education, and that we can work together with the estimable members of the media in helping more people understand and appreciate the many issues concerning education.

Very truly yours,

Cynthia A. Villar

Cc : Speaker Jose De Venecia
Senator Juan Flavier
Father Rolando Dela Rosa, CHED Chairman
Com. Maria Cristina D. Padolina
Com. Carlito S. Puno
Com. Luningning Umar
Com. Jun Ocampo
All members of House Committee on Higher and Technical Education

(Note: This letter to the editor was not printed by the Philippine Daily Inquirer)