Tag: Vol. LXXIX

A WEEK ago I took the licensure examination for nurses at a public elementary school in Manila.

I was in a dirty room with 23 strangers, my rump sore from the wide gaps in the small wooden chair I was sitting in with sweat trickling down my forehead, praying for someone to turn off the novelty songs playing in the distance or for our watcher to stop cutting her nails so I can focus on my exam.

But about 30 minutes into it, staring at the armchair in front of me laden with misspelled profanity, I simply sighed deeply and thought to myself “only in the Philippines.”

The sad state of our country’s public schools is alarming. How can any child be expected to learn effectively in those surroundings? Add to that the fact that the country’s best teachers are leaving in droves.

EVERYTHING that has happened in my life has always been my choice.

Eight years ago, I marched into this University not knowing what fate had in store for me. All I knew was that I was going to study high school in what my elementary text books claim as the oldest university in the Philippines. I could have stayed in my old school; after all, my parents only had to pay half of my high school tuition fee after graduating with honors in elementary. But it was my choice to be here in UST. And, at 12 years old, I was unaware that this choice would lead to a cascade of events that I never imagined would happen.

THE GOVERNMENT is at it again.

Hoping to redeem its lampooned image before the general public as a result of the battering and bruising it got over the ZTE-NBN broadband scandal, the Arroyo administration is once more – if only to duck, nay escape, further political lynching by its enemies and the disillusioned quarters of society – doing what it is best noted for: parading others’ dirty linen in classic populist fashion. Ironically, it is doing so with its own soiled hands caught in its own laundry bin.

And what a way for the government to cast a mirage of concern for the very people it has duped in the past than to pick on someone its own size in the playground of power – Meralco. The power distributor has been taken to task for its high power rates and charges.

THE UST College of Nursing will implement the new “five-year” nursing curriculum required by regulators this academic year, despite some reservations, saying it won’t be difficult for the University to comply with tougher standards being imposed by the government to arrest what some say is the declining quality of the country’s nursing graduates.

THE DOMINICAN order and other religious congregations have pooled together their financial resources to form a mutual fund that will ensure a steady flow of income to support religious projects and apostolates.

“Owned by the Religious for the Religious,” the Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. is being managed by private sector professionals and is open to all religious institutions and schools.

According to its prospectus, the fund aims to be a “safe and profitable investment,” with money to be invested mainly on Treasury bills and government bonds which are considered the safest in the market.

TO DIRECTLY monitor the state of medical technology education in the country, the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) has taken over the accreditation of hospital laboratories used to train medical laboratory science or medical technology interns.

Under Memorandum Order (MO) No. 6 series of 2008, Ched will take the cue from the Department of Health (DOH), with the new order replacing the latter’s Administrative Order (AO) 118-B or the “Rules and Regulations Governing the Accreditation of Clinical Laboratories for Training of Medical Technology Interns.” Experts told the Varsitarian the new scheme would help improve the training of med-tech interns, reduce costs, make sure grades are fair and prepare students for the board exams.

Old order

STARTING this academic year, the College of Architecture and other architectural schools in the country will follow a standard curriculum with six new subjects prescribed by a Commission on Higher Education (Ched) order, Architecture Dean John Joseph Fernandez said.

The new curriculum according to Ched Memorandum No. 61, series of 2006 (Policies, Standards, and Guidelines for the Bachelor of Science in Architecture), was a result of a review of architecture education policies, standards and guidelines as part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Architect Project.

The Apec’s 14 member-economies have decided to adopt a standard architecture curriculum “to establish a common basis for the recognition of professional competence that will simplify access to independent practice as an architect in other participating economies,” according to the international organization’s webpage.

THE SANTISSIMO Rosario Parish has launched its own “Bigasan ng Parokya” in response to the Archdiocese of Manila’s move to cushion the impact of the on-going rice crisis, which is expected to last five more years.

The parish-wide program caters to needy families from five barangay zones in Sampaloc district – zones 41, 44, 45, 46, and 47.

UST parish priest Fr. Jaime Alamillo, O.P., said that Santissimo Rosario has enough weekly supply of rice to meet the demands from the five zones.

“Santissimo Rosario Parish is supplied 40 sacks of rice per week but the rice is sold at the same price in rice outlets,” Alamillo told the Varsitarian.

Rice sold at outlets authorized by the state-run National Food Authority (NFA) are sold at a subsidized price of P18 and P25 per kilogram. But unlike the parish, only 21 sacks of rice are supplied to these stores by the NFA per week.

A THOMASIAN now heads the United Architects of the Philippines Student Auxiliary (UAPSA) after winning the votes of fellow architecture students during the organization’s National Congress last March 31 to April 3 in Cebu City.

Vinson Serrano, a member of the UAPSA National Board and a former batch representative of UAPSA-UST, is the new UAPSA president and the third Thomasian to hold the position since the organization was established in 1989.

Architect Camille Calixto was the first Thomasian national president of the organization in 1993, and is now a member of the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP). Architect Marian Eileen Florentino became the second Thomasian UAPSA president in 2000.

“I feel overwhelmed to represent our University and to serve not only Thomasian architecture students but every architecture student in the Philippines who is a member of the UAPSA,” Serrano told the Varsitarian.

BY INTERNATIONAL standards, the UST Museum of Arts and Sciences still has a long way to go when it comes to preserving its priceless collection of paintings, many of which cannot be displayed simply because of lack of space.

This is partly because the mezzanine of the Main Building which serves as the repository of UST’s heritage was not really meant for a museum, said Maita Oebanda, UST Museum collection management and documentation assistant.

“The Museum started as an auditorium called paraninfo. It’s a multi-purpose gathering hall where rectors would usually deliver their speeches,” Oebanda told the Varsitarian.