Group wants Neri out of CHED, says he lacks focus

MANILA, Philippines - A group of owners and officials of Philippine colleges and universities on Sunday expressed disappointment over the leadership of Romulo Neri as head of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and batted for his removal from office. The 170-member group, the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU), said Neri has “played deaf and blind” to the concerns of tertiary education and wanted him “placed somewhere else where his brilliance can be put to good use.” “Apparently, the acting chairman has other things in mind than attending to higher education concerns. In the past, Neri said he would stay out of CHed fast and that he had no ambitions of staying there longer. Clearly, his intention is different from what he's actually doing,” said PACU president Gonzalo Duque. Duque, who is a Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) deputy head, said that the commission needs a chairman who is “really focused on the job.” “Neri’s brilliance is misplaced. He should be placed somewhere else where his brilliance can be put to good use,” he added. On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the highest, Duque gave Neri a failing grade of four. Citing the issuance of the controversial nursing curriculum, among other CHED policies, Duque said they were “very disappointed with (Neri's) management style.” Duque, whose family owns and runs the Lyceum Northwestern University in Dagupan City, said the new curriculum was “very unfair” to both schools and students and assailed CHed for allegedly failing to consult private colleges and universities about new policies of the commission. “Clearly, due process was not observed,” said Duque, older brother of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III. The Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) had already demanded for a stop on the implementation of the new nursing curriculum. According to the group, CHED memorandum Order No. 5, which directed nursing schools nationwide to add new subjects and increase hospital hours for students starting this school year, would do more harm than good. The Ched order has added 28 units and three summer classes to the nursing curriculum's 169 units. Practicum hours would also increase to 2,703 hours from the current requirement of 2,142 hours, COCOPEA said. Duque said the additional units would “increase the financial burden of students and parents, as well as nursing schools and hospitals.” In a paper furnished the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, Duque described as “illegal and invalid” the CHed order “having been issued and implemented without the benefit of public hearing and publication.” “The subsequent promulgation of the order without issuing the proper guidelines in the conduct of public hearings manifests the inequitable and unfair conduct of the CHed in dealing with private higher education institutions,” he said. CHED explained the new policies were aimed at further honing nursing students' technical knowledge and skills, making them more competent and competitive to both local and foreign employers. - GMANews.TV