Concerned faculty members, alumni, and students of the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center (UERM) have publicly appealed to the University’s Board of Trustees to urgently address what they describe as leadership decisions that are placing the quality of medical education at risk.
In a set of proposals submitted to the Board, the group expressed concern over the continued admission of increasing numbers of medical students despite what they say is an insufficient number of teaching personnel, many of whom remain underpaid, overworked, and without security of tenure. They warned that expanding enrollment without a corresponding investment in faculty and training resources could compromise the institution’s long-standing reputation for academic excellence.
The group is urging the Board to immediately suspend further admissions for the incoming academic year while conducting an independent assessment of the University’s actual teaching capacity. They also proposed maintaining admissions at approximately 500 students annually until an objective evaluation confirms that the institution can responsibly accommodate larger numbers.
Beyond enrollment, the stakeholders called for measures to strengthen the University’s teaching environment, including restoring dedicated clinical wards, improving access to service wards to ensure adequate patient exposure for medical trainees, and creating pathways for the regularization of qualified long-serving faculty members.
The proposals also emphasize that many of the current challenges stem from leadership and governance issues. As such, the group is calling for meaningful stakeholder participation in the selection of key University officials and for leadership that is transparent, consultative, and accountable.
According to the concerned stakeholders, these recommendations are not intended to undermine the institution but to preserve the quality of education, training, and patient care that generations of UERM graduates have come to expect.
They stressed that with the new academic year fast approaching, decisive action is needed to restore confidence among faculty, students, alumni, and the wider medical community, while ensuring that institutional growth does not come at the expense of educational quality.
The proposals have been formally submitted to the UERM Board of Trustees for consideration.
