Borongan City: The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Wednesday ordered the closure of select programs of Our Lady of Mercy College (OLMC) in Borongan City for non-compliance with the Commission policies, standards, and guidelines (PSGs). 'The Commission has done what we can do to help OLMC but still the College remains non-compliant with our PSGs,' CHED Chairperson J. Prospero de Vera III said in a statement.
According to Philippines News Agency, the said order revokes the government recognition (GR) of the OLMC programs for the academic year 2025 to 2026, particularly on Criminology and Nursing programs. The GRs for the OLMC's Bachelor in Elementary Education and their two-year Midwifery programs were also revoked in December 2023.
The CHED, meanwhile, assured assistance to students who will be affected by the closure. 'The closure is issued to ensure student access to quality education. Rest assured that we will assist with the transfer of affected students to reputable HEIs,' De Vera said.
The CHED Eastern Visayas will assist the transfer of first to third-year students from OLMCs to other recognized programs or other higher education institutions (HEIs), while 4th-year students of the said programs will be allowed to continue their studies and graduate by the end of the academic year 2024-2025.
