Nurse exam retake frozen
By GENALYN D. KABILING
The planned mandatory retake of the June nursing licensure examinations has been put on hold until the Court of Appeals (CA) issues a final decision concerning the cheating scandal, Malacañang announced yesterday.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the scope of the re-examinations would depend on the forthcoming CA ruling on a petition seeking to invalidate the scandal-tainted 2006 nursing board exams.
“We can't make the final action up to extent of the retake and who should retake because we will see how the Court of Appeals’ decision will bear upon such a decision,” Ermita said in an interview with reporters in the Palace.
In explaining the latest government decision, Ermita said the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) had reminded the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) about the pending case in the CA seeking the invalidation and retaking of two leaked subjects in the June tests. The two agencies were earlier ordered by President Arroyo to work out the details of the retake of the nursing board exams, including whether this would be full or partial.
Ermita acknowledged that the government must abide by the judicial process before a retake of the nursing board exams is conducted. “Going by the rule of law, we have to consider that there is such a case in the CA, which could very well bear on the decision on the level of retake,” he said.
The suspension of the mandatory retake came a day after President Arroyo announced that only Tests 3 and 5 of the 2006 nursing test would be covered in the retake of all nursing board examinees before December. The two tests on Medical/Surgical Nursing and Neuro-Psychiatric Nursing were suspected to be plagued with leakages as many review centers obtained copies of test questions a few days before the scheduled exam.
The President had said the retake of the nursing board exams was the “best decision at the moment” to repair the damage done to the reputation and integrity of the Filipino nurses as well as the professional board exams.
In a petition before the CA, the faculty members the University of Sto. Tomas (UST) College of Nursing and several groups of nurses have sought a retake of the examination as they questioned the actions taken by the PRC to cleanse the examination of leaked test questions. Pending its decision on the petition, the appellate court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping the August 22 oath-taking of new nurses.
Ermita, meantime, said the President would not back down on her decision for a retake despite protests from some sectors of the medical profession. “We have to consider the integrity of the profession because it will affect other professions domestically and abroad.
Those are the strong ones that bore on the decision of the President to order the retake,” he said.
In Cebu, hundreds of nursing students, nursing licensure exam passers, their parents and representatives of the various medical schools in Cebu City trooped to the Fuente Osmeña oval yesterday morning to air their strong opposition to the proposed retake of the examination.
The board passers also urged President Arroyo to exempt the Cebu passers from retaking the nursing licensure board examination considering that the alleged leakage was found to have been contained in the Luzon area.
Mae Plaza, one of the top-notchers of the recent board exam for nurses, said she will not consider retaking the exam even if the government will shoulder all the expenses that will be incurred.
“Taking the exam is unex-plainably stressful and draining. The government should not make us pay for a crime that we didn’t commit,” said Plaza, whose stand echoes the voices of more than 300 nurses that gathered at the Fuente Osmeña oval yesterday morning. (With a report from Mars Mosqueda)
Source:
http://www.tempo.com.ph/news.php?aid=27539