The memorandum of agreement between Cebu Technological University (CTU) and the Cebu City Government, through the Cebu City Medical Center–College of Nursing (CCMC-CN), is a welcome development.
For many young Filipinos, becoming a nurse is more than a career ambition. It is a pathway out of poverty, an opportunity to serve others and a chance to answer the country’s continuing need for competent health professionals.
But as this partnership moves from paper to implementation, one principle should remain clear: the door to nursing education must be open to all deserving students.
This is where the public character of CTU becomes particularly important.
CTU is a state university. Its mandate is not confined to the political boundaries of one city. It exists to provide accessible, quality higher education to qualified Filipinos, particularly those who may not have the financial capacity to study in expensive private institutions.
The proposed nursing partnership, therefore, should not inadvertently reproduce an old limitation in which admission to a City-supported nursing program was effectively reserved for Cebu City residents or voters.
That policy may have been understandable when the program was viewed primarily as a benefit of the Cebu City Government to its constituents. Local taxpayers, after all, have a legitimate interest in seeing public resources benefit their communities.
But the equation changes when a state university becomes an institutional partner.
A public university brings with it a broader educational mandate. Its classrooms should not become restricted spaces based simply on political geography.
A deserving student from San Fernando, Consolacion, Lapu-Lapu, Danao, Toledo, Camotes, or another municipality should not automatically be considered less deserving of an opportunity simply because he or she does not reside or vote in Cebu City.
Nursing, after all, is a profession of service — not a profession of political boundaries.
A nurse trained through the CTU-CCMC partnership may eventually work in Cebu City, in another municipality, in another province, or even abroad.
Wherever that nurse goes, the education received through a public institution becomes part of the country’s investment in human capital.
This is why the admission policy matters.
The consortium should consider a system that gives priority to merit, academic preparedness, financial need and commitment to public service, while allowing Cebu City to retain reasonable recognition for its financial contribution to the partnership.
There is a way to protect the interests of Cebu City residents without closing the door to qualified students from neighboring communities.
In fact, inclusivity could make the partnership stronger.
Cebu’s healthcare needs are not confined to Cebu City. Provincial and municipal hospitals, rural health units, community clinics and other healthcare facilities also need qualified nurses. Expanding access to nursing education therefore strengthens not merely one city but the entire regional healthcare system.
The CTU-CCMC partnership could become a model of what public education should accomplish: bringing together government resources and state university expertise to make professional education accessible to those who need it most.
The question should not simply be: “Where does the applicant live?”
The more important questions should be: “Is the applicant qualified? Does the applicant need the opportunity? Can the applicant become a competent nurse? And is the applicant willing to serve?”
If the answer is yes, then the door should remain open.
Because when government invests in nursing education, it is not merely producing nurses for one city.
It is investing in the health of Cebu — and in the Filipino people.
