TINATAYANG  may anim na  medical programs ang binuksan sa loob lamang ng isang taon sa ilalim ng administrasyong Marcos.

Bahagi ito ng pagsusulong ng Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) para itaas ang bilang ng public universities na nag-aalok ng medical programs.

Sa press briefing sa Malakanyang, sinabi ni CHED Commissioner Prospero de Vera III na nagsumite na ang komisyon ng accomplishment report nito kay Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. gaya ng pagkompleto ng administrasyon sa unang taon nito sa tanggapan, kung saan nakatuon sa  “six areas” na mayroong “verifiable at measurable success indicators.”

“For example, we are pushing for more public universities to have medical programs.  There are now 18 medical schools in state universities and colleges where students can get scholarship for their medical education and they will serve in underserved areas after they graduate,” ayon kay De Vera.

“Out of the 18, the original number was eight.  Under the (former President Rodrigo) Duterte administration, four were produced or four programs are opened in five years; under the Marcos administration, six medical programs are opened in one year. So we really presented those where there was a significant difference,” dagdag na wika nito.

Aniya, ang mga bagong medical schools  ay nag-aalok ng scholarships kasama ang kanilang state-of-the-art equipment para makapag- produce ng  world-class doctors na magsisilbi sa tinatawag na “underserved areas” ng bansa.

Kabilang naman sa “six areas” na binanggit at isinumite ni De Vera  na isinumite sa Pangulo ay ang “Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education; CHED’s achievement in compliance to the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA); and, its achievements in addressing the nursing education issue. Expanding medical education to students; CHED’s niche programs particularly on science, technology, engineering and mathematics; and, internationalization of Philippine higher education.”

Ang lahat ng mga nabanggit ay bahagi ng report ng komisyon.

Sa aspeto naman ng  achievements ng CHED sa pagtugon sa mga hamon sa nursing education,  inihayag ni De Vera na  partikular na bubuuin ng komisyon ang “long-term, medium-term at immediate actions”  na maaaring gawin para tugunan ang kakapusan ng mga Filipino nurse.

“Those were the six areas that we discussed with the President, and we identified the verifiable success indicators and data to show that in the first year of the Marcos administration, there was a significant achievement and change in terms of the higher education sector,”  ayon kay De Vera. (Daris Jose)