Amidst growing concern over the Commission on Higher Education's (CHED) Memorandum Order No. 32, Series of 2010, which orders tertiary schools to stop offering starting SY 2011-2012 nursing and teacher courses among others, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Monday has posted a press release that explains why the CMO was issued.
The following is the content of the PR posted on November 15, 2010 at the Official Gazette.
The following is the content of the PR posted on November 15, 2010 at the Official Gazette.
A downloadable copy of CMO No. 32-2010 can be found on this page.DOLE: Jobs mismatch, deteriorating education lead CHED to declare moratorium on some courses
Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz yesterday said government efforts to shift focus to college courses that will land graduates in gainful employment will get a boost with the decision of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to impose a moratorium on the opening of new programs in business administration, nursing, teacher education, hotel and restaurant management, and information technology education, effective school year 2011-2012.
The moratorium is contained in CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 32, Series of 2010, issued on 30 September 2010.
“The moratorium, I believe, is a decisive action on the part of the CHED to mitigate potential oversupply of graduates in certain disciplines, and in the process, to encourage incoming students to opt for courses that offer the best chances of employment after graduation,” Baldoz said.
In imposing the moratorium, the CHED cited the proliferation of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) offering undergraduate and graduate programs in business administration, nursing, teacher education, hotel and restaurant management, which, it said, “if allowed to continue unabated, would result in the deterioration of the quality of graduates.”
“The validation of the outcome of the Evaluation of Graduate Program in the Philippines (EGEP) confirmed the weakening of graduates from the business administration and teacher education program all over the country,” the CHED said.
“The result of the Licensure Examination for Teachers and Nurses administered by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) also showed a gradual decline in the performance of teacher and nursing education graduates,” it added.
Moreover, it pointed to the “problem of mismatch currently being experienced by significant number of business administration, hotel and restaurant management, and information technology graduates.”
Baldoz said the moratorium complements the efforts of the DOLE at reinforcing the employability of graduates by delivering relevant labor market information at the grassroots level, including educating students on what courses are employable.
The DOLE, she said, is formulating a Philippine Human Resources Development (HRD) framework which would contain strategies to attain better and quality graduates who will find jobs after college.
The labor chief said that based on the common recommendations of social partners at the recent nationwide consultations for the National Labor and Employment Summit, the country’s HRD efforts should shift towards market intelligence, responsive training and education programs, adequate investments on education and training, and better quality learning inputs and outputs that will pave the way towards better matching of the skills of Filipinos with requirements in the job market.
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