MAKATI City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. urged state universities and colleges to take the lead in offering Bachelor of Science in Nursing courses after the Commission on Higher Education lifted the ban on new nursing programs.

Campos particularly called on SUCs that do not offer the BSN program to be among the first to apply and comply with the requirements to establish new nursing schools.

“The lure of free tuition and other fees will encourage many high school graduates to take up nursing once SUCs in the provinces roll out their new BSN programs,” Campos said.

The Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, or Republic Act 10931, ensures free tuition and other fees for undergraduate programs, including the four-year BSN course.

“In Congress, we are prepared to support SUCs that will request for additional funding so that they can put up new nursing schools,” Campos said. “New nursing schools will mean additional teaching and non-academic support jobs.”

The lawmaker said that the country will reap the benefits of having a strong nursing force “putting us in a stronger position to supply and fill both the domestic and global shortages of practitioners.”