THE lack of facilities necessary to open a nursing course is one reason two local colleges in Cebu have expressed no interest in offering the program in their campuses.This as the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, lifted its 11-year moratorium on new undergraduate nursing programs.Officials of the city colleges of Talisay and Mandaue, which are managed by their respective local government units, said it may take a while before they can offer a nursing course in their campuses considering that they are still focused on improving the curriculum of the courses they are currently offering to their students.Dr. Richel Bacaltos, president of the Talisay City College (TCC), told SunStar Cebu that aside from the lack of facilities, they also need to comply with a lot of requirements sought by Ched before they can open a nursing course.Requirements they need to comply with include for TCC to partner with a hospital for on-the-job training (OJT) of its students as well as hiring nursing graduates with master’s degrees to serve as faculty.Bacaltos said the process is still long before they can offer the program to the public.Not a priorityAs for Dr. Lilibeth Mayol, acting administrator of the Mandaue City College (MCC), she said they would rather devote more time to improving their school’s facilities and current program than offering additional courses.Mayol said applying for additional programs is the school’s least priority, adding that MCC does not have enough facilities to offer more courses.She added that the decision to open a nursing program at the MCC needs a thorough discussion between the school administrators and their board of trustees.“There is still a lot to consider aside from the facilities. This needs thorough discussion not only from within the people running the school, but we have to take that up with the board of trustees,” Mayol added.More health workers neededIn a press conference held on Tuesday, July 12, Ched chairperson Prospero de Vera III said members of their commission en banc lifted the nursing program moratorium due to the rising need for health workers amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.De Vera said the moratorium, which was issued in September 2010 due to the “oversupply” of nursing graduates and the quality of their education, was reviewed amid the lack of healthcare workers amid the Covid-19 crisis.He said the country is in need of 201,265 more nurses based on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals requirement. (BBT, HIC / TPT)