|
Malacañang said on Monday it accepts the decision of the
Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS)
not to qualify those who passed the June 2006 nursing
board examinations unless they pass another board
examination.
Chief
Presidential Counsel Sergio Apostol said this had come
about because the CGFNS rejected a government appeal on
behalf of the nurses. “That is a rule in the [United]
States. If you want to go to the States, you follow
their rule. If you do not want, never mind. Why do we
have to file a motion for reconsideration? Who is
seeking reconsideration? It is the students, so why
should the government get involved in that?”
Apostol
also said that Labor Secretary Arturo Brion does not
necessarily need an executive order to direct all June
2006 nursing board passers to retake the exams. He
pointed out the Professional Regulatory Commission is
under the Department of Labor and Employment. “All he
has to do is to give the necessary [instructions] to the
PRC, talk with the PRC, and fix the date for the
examination.”
An
investigation of the June 2006 exams showed that certain
test questions were leaked to some text review centers,
damaging the integrity of the exam results.
Some
groups like the University of Santo Tomas School of
Nursing, had said it is better for all test takers to
have a new examination, in order to avoid tainting the
2006 batch of nurses, but they were drowned out by the
rest. In the end, only a certain segment of the takers
were directed to undergo new examinations, which were
also limited to certain items only.
The
CGFNS’ strict position effectively validates the UST’s
warning about the short-cut solution producing more
problems over the long term.
Upon
instructions of President Arroyo, the Labor department
had earlier asked the CGFNS to reconsider its decision
to require the questioned exam’s passers to retake the
tests. |
