EDITORIAL- Global standards

When a cheating scandal involving the nursing licensure examinations erupted a few years ago, the consequences were felt not only by the batch of examinees but by nurses already employed or seeking jobs particularly overseas. Several countries tightened qualification requirements for Filipino nurses as questions were raised over the integrity of the licensure exams in the Philippines.

As one of the world’s largest sources of workers, the Philippines is supposed to give priority to compliance with global standards on training and certification. Nurses, however, are not the only ones who have been adversely affected by doubts on the quality of training and testing of workers in this country.

The European Maritime Safety Agency has warned that the Philippines has not satisfactorily complied with the Standards of Training, Certification and Watch-keeping or STCW, set for seafarers under the International Maritime Organization Convention, which has been adopted by the European Union. If the EU withdraws its recognition of Philippine compliance with the STCW, EU-registered ships can no longer hire Filipino seafarers.

There are thousands of those seafarers; it is said that there are Filipinos working in almost every commercial vessel on the planet. Merchant marine courses continue to be among the most popular in the country. This is a career for those who want to see the world and get paid for it. Salaries are higher in danger zones such as in the pirate-infested waters off Somalia.

Philippine officials have reassured the EU that the country is working to improve compliance with the STCW. That message should be internalized by operators of merchant marine schools. Educational institutions thrive on the ability of their graduates to land the types of jobs for which they have been trained. The schools should have a stake in ensuring that the education they provide complies with global standards.