One more year for NURSES, teachers eyed
CEBU CITY, Philippines - The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) has recommended adding one more year to the curriculum of nursing and education courses – a change that would start this coming school year if approved.
A teachers’ group, however, is opposing the proposal, saying there were other ways to improve the quality of education without imposing the added struggles that come with another school year.
The proposal was in response to Malacañang’s order to have CHEd find ways to improve the quality of education and to make Filipino nurses and teachers globally competitive.
Fely Mangyao of the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) – Cebu chapter said the group appreciated CHEd’s aim of producing more efficient workers, but adding an additional year was not timely and had disadvantages that the commission should look into.
She said that nursing and teaching were best learned outside the classroom, so adding another year would delay a nursing or education graduate’s chance to gain experience.
Instead of adding a year, CHEd could instead change the nursing and education curriculum to include more hands-on practice, Mangyao added.
Adding a year to the curriculum would also rob nursing and education students of a year that could already be spent working, she said.
Mangyao said that the “ultimate goal” of nursing and education students is to finish school quickly so that they could help their families and also gain their personal needs and wants.
Also, not many parents could afford to send their children through an additional year of school, Mangyao said.
If CHEd insisted on adding a year to nursing or education courses, then the government should also make sure there are enough jobs for them when they graduate, Mangyao said.
She said there are many licensed teachers and nurses in the country who still do not have jobs.
TDC is expected to pass a position paper on the matter.
Parents have differing views on the matter.
Analiza dela Peña, said it was a parent’s responsibility to provide an education for their children.
"As long as it’s for their future, we’ll have to bank on it (education),” said Dela Peña, whose son is in grade school.
But carpenter Dionicio Carba, who has two children in high school, said another year of college would be impractical for courses that are in demand, such as nursing and education.
He said that with the country experiencing an economic crisis, parents would tend to opt for fast and inexpensive education for their children so that they could help their families quickly.
High school student Jonathan Banquesio, who plans to take up education in college, said adding another year to the course was unnecessary since education graduates would have to undergo board examinations before they could actually teach.
The exams, he said, would be the means of knowing whether an education graduate was ready to be a teacher or not.
Justine Mae Serna, also a high school student, said she agreed with the idea of an additional year for nursing.
Since the job of a nurse is to save lives, adding a year would make nursing students more effective, she said.
source: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/news/view/20090128-186032/One-more-year-for-nurses-teachers-eyed
A teachers’ group, however, is opposing the proposal, saying there were other ways to improve the quality of education without imposing the added struggles that come with another school year.
The proposal was in response to Malacañang’s order to have CHEd find ways to improve the quality of education and to make Filipino nurses and teachers globally competitive.
Fely Mangyao of the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) – Cebu chapter said the group appreciated CHEd’s aim of producing more efficient workers, but adding an additional year was not timely and had disadvantages that the commission should look into.
She said that nursing and teaching were best learned outside the classroom, so adding another year would delay a nursing or education graduate’s chance to gain experience.
Instead of adding a year, CHEd could instead change the nursing and education curriculum to include more hands-on practice, Mangyao added.
Adding a year to the curriculum would also rob nursing and education students of a year that could already be spent working, she said.
Mangyao said that the “ultimate goal” of nursing and education students is to finish school quickly so that they could help their families and also gain their personal needs and wants.
Also, not many parents could afford to send their children through an additional year of school, Mangyao said.
If CHEd insisted on adding a year to nursing or education courses, then the government should also make sure there are enough jobs for them when they graduate, Mangyao said.
She said there are many licensed teachers and nurses in the country who still do not have jobs.
TDC is expected to pass a position paper on the matter.
Parents have differing views on the matter.
Analiza dela Peña, said it was a parent’s responsibility to provide an education for their children.
"As long as it’s for their future, we’ll have to bank on it (education),” said Dela Peña, whose son is in grade school.
But carpenter Dionicio Carba, who has two children in high school, said another year of college would be impractical for courses that are in demand, such as nursing and education.
He said that with the country experiencing an economic crisis, parents would tend to opt for fast and inexpensive education for their children so that they could help their families quickly.
High school student Jonathan Banquesio, who plans to take up education in college, said adding another year to the course was unnecessary since education graduates would have to undergo board examinations before they could actually teach.
The exams, he said, would be the means of knowing whether an education graduate was ready to be a teacher or not.
Justine Mae Serna, also a high school student, said she agreed with the idea of an additional year for nursing.
Since the job of a nurse is to save lives, adding a year would make nursing students more effective, she said.
source: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/news/view/20090128-186032/One-more-year-for-nurses-teachers-eyed
