Popular courses such as nursing no longer recommended by CHED

“POPULAR courses may not be those recommended courses,” said Commission on Higher Education (Ched)-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) Director IV Dr. Freddie Bernal trying to prevent more students from enrolling in popular courses but not recommended ones.

The Ched issued a memorandum order asking for a moratorium on the opening of all undergraduate programs in Business Administration, Nursing, Teacher Education, Hotel and Restaurant Management, and Information Technology Education for the school year 2011-2012.

The popular courses but not necessarily recommended ones are Business Administration includes Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA), Master in Business Administration (MBA) and Doctor in Business Administration (DBA); Nursing including Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Master of Arts/ Master in Nursing (MAN/MN), and Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhDN); Teacher Education including Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEE), Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSE), Master of Arts in Education (MAED), Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), and Doctor of Philosophy in Education (Ph.D in Educ.); Hotel and Restaurant Management including Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management (BSHRM), Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management (BSHM), Master of Science in Hospitality Management/ Hotel and Restaurant Management (MSHM/ MSHRM), and Doctor of Hotel and Restaurant Management/ Hospitality Management (DHRM/ DHHM); and Information Technology including Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT), Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT), Master in Information Technology (MIT), and Doctor in Information Technology.

The memorandum mandates all universities and colleges to temporarily close the opening of these programs to prevent the decline of the quality of graduates on these five higher education programs.

Data from Ched states the Evaluation of Graduate Program in the Philippines (EGEP) confirmed the weakening state of the quality of the graduates from the Business Administration and Teacher Education programs all over the country.

The result of the Licensure Examination for Teachers and Nurses administered by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) also allowed a gradual decline in the performance of teacher and nursing education graduates indicating the worsening state of the programs.

There is also a mismatch experienced by the number of Business Administration, Hotel and Restaurant Management, and Information Technology graduates.

As agreed upon by the Interagency Committee which represented by the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole), Philippines Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU), Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC), and National Economic Development Authority (Neda), there are priority courses to be enrolled by Ched Financial Assistance Programs grantees and to be recommended to the all the incoming freshmen.

The priority courses include Agriculture and Related Fields (15% allocation), which are Agro-Forestry, Veterinary Medicine, Agricultural Engineering, Agribusiness/Management, Agricultural Entrepreneurship, Agri-Tech, Agriculture and Fisheries; Teacher Education (15 %) major in: Math, Science, Physics, Chemistry, Reading, English, Educational Media/ Technology and Special Education (SPED); Science and Math (10%) which includes B.S. Math, B.S. Science and B.S. Physics; Engineering (20%) like Mechanical, Electronics, Communication, Metallurgical/ Mining, Computer, Biomedical, Chemical, Geodetic, Electrical, Meteorological, Mining and Geological; Arts and Humanities (5%); Atmospheric Science (5%); and Environmental Science which has the allocation of 5%.

Priority courses also include Health Sciences (15%), Pharmacy Radiology Technology and Medical Technology; and Information Technology (10%) which includes Information Technology and Computing Studies, Multi Media, Animation, Programming, Computer Science and Information System Management however, these are temporarily closed due to number of graduates in these course. (Joylyne Puguon/SMU Intern)

Published in the Sun.Star Baguio newspaper on May 16, 2011.