24 June 2012
The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has given scholarships to relatives of Filipino nurses, who have passed Japan’s national licensure examinations.
“This is in recognition of their feat, for hurdling the difficult examinations and making their families and the country proud,” Secretary Joel Villanueva, Director General of TESDA, said as he released the 14 certificates of commitment (COC) for the relatives of the nurses, who are now working in Japan.
The CoC may be used by a member of the family of each of the nurses to avail of the free training offered by TESDA’s participating institutions under its Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP).
Hans Leo Cacdac, administrator of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), earlier requested TESDA for the grant of the scholarship to the relatives of the 14 nurses “in recognizing the contribution and achievements of our overseas Filipino workers.”
The 13 nurses and one caregiver took the tests called Kangoshi, considered one of the most difficult tests in the world, on February 19. The results of the tests came out on March 26.
Two Filipino nurses earlier passed the same test in 2010 and 2011.
The examinations were part of the requirement for full employment of nurses deployed to Japan under the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement in 2009.
The recent passers were Angelica de Guzman Tabora, Fatima Carla Libunao Santiago, Debbie San Pedro Sarausa, Excelsis John Cadungo Borbon, Christine Montalba Guevarra, Necy Abiera Suerto, Jenilou Espares Cabalatungan, Jeneth Geronimo de Guzman, Elvira Bucled Sibayan, Faith Marie Maniago Munar, Erwin Huizo Ramirez, Mildred Echalas dela Cerna, and Ana Katrina Bantigue Catolico.
The caregiver who passed was Marichelle Orca.
“With the scholarships, we want to tell our Filipino nurses in Japan not to worry about their loved ones who are left here because the government is taking care of them,” Villanueva said.
Early this year, TESDA launched the Preparatory Japanese Language Training for the country's candidate nurses and caregivers bound for various health institutions under the PJEPA.
Two batches of nurses have taken the program so far that helped facilitate their settling down and acculturation in their areas of deployment, and improved their chances of passing the difficult licensure examination conducted in the Japanese language.
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