Solon seeks probe on questionable OJT fees for nursing students
Reposted from Kabataan Partylist
Now in her last year in college, Neshreen Kingking is a senior nursing student enrolled in one of the prestigious nursing schools in Metro Manila. Being the eldest of six who are all studying, she took up nursing, an in- demand course, to help improve the financial situation of their family.
Like any other nursing student, Neshreen is required to do hospital and community duties as part of their Related Learning Experience (RLE), an on-the –job training (OJT) or internship program. Neshreen and other nursing students are required to finish all their hospital duties as a requirement for graduation.
Of the P 57,371 she pays every semester for tuition and other fees, 38.49 percent or an estimate of P 22,082 goes to the payment for RLE, which is, in essence, a payment to allow students to render their services in hospitals. The payment for the RLE is even a bigger percentage compared to her tuition, which costs P15,690 per semester.
Not only does she pay hefty amount for her duties, most of the time she also provides the medical supplies needed especially when they are designated to public hospitals.
Neshreen’s problem is not an isolated case. It is a reality that almost half a million Philippine nursing students are facing today.
Such alarming reports have pushed Kabataan Partylist Representative Raymond Palatino to file House Resolution 434, which seeks to investigate the exorbitant fees paid by students undergoing on-the-job trainings such as hospital duties.
“It has been a prevalent practice in recent years among hospitals to charge nursing students exorbitant fees simply to grant them the ‘privilege’ of rendering services in their institutions. It has been reported that some hospitals even exploit this situation by refusing to fill in vacant plantilla positions with actual nursing professionals and simply let their student trainees do the work in order to cut on expenses and earn more profits,” he added.
Palatino said “students and parents are at the losing end here. Despite rendering actual work for months, they are required to pay for the public service they provide and even arrange for medical supplies.”
“No less than the Labor Code of the Philippines recognizes work rendered even by apprentices and learners, and provides for the protection and promotion of their rights and benefit,” the resolution stated.
“No less than the Labor Code of the Philippines recognizes work rendered even by apprentices and learners, and provides for the protection and promotion of their rights and benefit,” the resolution stated.
He added, “Students are still obliged to pay OJT fees even if they are the ones who will hunt for companies that will accept them as interns. Both the Commission on Higher Education and the Department of Health should disallow such fees so that students will not be exploited by hospitals through placing burdensome fees.”
“Students and parents are beset by the profit-oriented education and health service system of the country. Like products which are in demand in the market, students are compelled to pay the price set by businessmen in order to avail their needs. Through on-the-job trainings, students are the ones filling up the shortages of health workers in hospitals. It is disturbing to know that they are exploited by paying thousands of pesos for their internship – the free public service they are offering,” he said.
