Editorial - Protect students above all in MCC mess

The controversies hounding the Mandaue City College headed by Dr. Paulus Cañete have to be resolved at the soonest time. That is because caught in the middle of these controversies are the innocent students who have nothing to do with the controversies in the first place.

The controversies are such that aside from the legal and operational questions involved, even the school name is subject to confusion. There is another school with exactly the same name, headed by Dr. Susana Cabahug, hence the need to qualify either by their respective heads.

Cañete, on the one hand, insists his school is operating legally, and is threatening to sue the pants off of those who are giving him a hard time. Arrayed against him are the Commission on Higher Education, the Professional Regulation Commission, and the Mandaue City Government.

Mandaue City is threatening to padlock the school for failure to pay taxes. The PRC is threatening to ban graduates from taking board exams, on account of the claim by CHED that the school did not seek its authority to offer courses that require board exams.

Worse, past graduates who have already taken and passed their respective board exams risk having their licenses not renewed by PRC. Clearly, the situation is direr for the students of the school than for the contenders themselves.

Life can go on much easier for Cañete and his school, as well as for Mandaue City, the PRC, and the CHED. But for the poor hapless students, it will be very difficult for them to recover the lost time, money and effort. And the experience will scar them for life.

What kind of citizens will these students and new professionals become when the examples set by those who are supposed to mold their characters and equip them with the knowledge to cope with life are the very ones that have seriously compromised their future?

Not only must the controversies be resolved at the soonest time, prudence and wisdom should also guide the decisions of the protagonists so that, pending resolution of the questions involved in the controversies, not a minute, cent or drop of sweat of even one student is wasted.