After over a decade, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) finally lifted the moratorium on the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.
CHED Chairperson Popoy De Vera announced the lifting of the moratorium for undergraduate and graduate Nursing programs in higher education institutions (HEIs) in a virtual presser on Wednesday, July 13.
“In 2010, CHED declared a moratorium on opening all undergraduate and graduate Nursing programs effective Academic Year (AY) 2011-2012 for all public and private HEIs,” De Vera explained.
The moratorium covered BS Nursing, MA Nursing, Master of Nursing, and Ph.D. Nursing.
De Vera noted that the said moratorium was anchored on the oversupply of graduates with over 200,000 nurses with no jobs; the training for a fee where Nursing students were paying hospitals to be trained and get certification; the proliferation of HEIs offering Nursing programs and the gradual decline in the performance of Nursing education graduates in the Nurse Licensure Exams.
Following the lifting of the moratorium, De Vera said qualified HEIs may apply as soon as possible “as long as they comply with all the necessary requirements.”
“We do not know yet how many will apply but we will try to fast-track the application,” De Vera said.
De Vera explained that all new applications from public and private HEIs “will have to be submitted and approved” by CHED, thus, those that intend to offer a BS Nursing program “shall not accept students without prior approval” from the Commission.
He added that State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and CHED-recognized Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs) are encouraged to apply for new BS Nursing programs to improve access for poor and deserving students.
Likewise, SUCs and CHED-recognized LUCs are also encouraged to “include return service agreements in their admission and retention policies to increase the number of nurses in their respective regions.”
De Vera stressed that HEIs that intend to offer BS Nursing programs must meet the minimum requirements per CMO 15 s. of 2017 focusing on dean, faculty, curriculum, base hospital, nursing skills laboratory, and library resources.
“All requirements should be complied with for the four full years program,” De Vera said.
Moreover, he noted that the HEIs must have a qualified Level III or Level II base hospital.
The HEI is also expected to “set the number of incoming first-year students subject to its carrying capacity based on its faculty resources, adequacy of teaching facilities available, and base hospital.”
De Vera said that HEIs that will be approved to open BS Nursing programs are also expected to produce graduates that will pass the licensure exams --- among others.
The lifting of the said moratorium, De Vera said, aims to augment the demand for nurses in the country and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) recommended ratio of nurses to the population.
CHED data showed that 333 HEIs are offering BS Nursing programs wherein 254 are private HEIs while 254 are SUCs or LUCs.