Palace orders retake of nurses’ test for all
ALL those who took this year’s nursing licensure exams—both passers and flunkers—will have to retake the tests after the Cabinet decided it is the only way to remove the doubt cast on the results by those who had cheated, an official said yesterday.
More than 17,000 of the 40,000 nurses that took the tests in June passed, but the results were tainted after officials discovered that test questions had been leaked to some of the examinees.
“Obviously, those who participated in the cheating should retake the exams, but we do not know who they are,” Labor Secretary Arturo Brion said.
“But for those who did not cheat, this is a way to erase the taint over their passing.”
Brion, who was recently ordered to oversee the Professional Regulation Commission, the agency administering the tests, said the retake would likely be held in December simultaneously with the next regular nursing exams.
But he doubted if the new tests would take place ahead of the regular exams because there were many vacancies in the board of nursing licensure tests that had yet to be filled by President Gloria Macagapal Arroyo.
Mrs. Arroyo is expected to issue an executive order authorizing the retake of the nursing exams shortly. The commission is then expected to release the guidelines for them five days later.
Brion said the retake would cover only Tests 3 and 5—the tests were some of the questions had been leaked—and at no cost to examinees. The President has set aside P52 million for the exams, although the commission has said they will cost only P14 million.
Meanwhile, education officials said deliberations would start next week with stakeholders on whether or not review schools would be regulated or abolished altogether in the wake of the tainted nursing tests.
“We have finally agreed on what procedures to take and how to go with the consultations,” said Carlito Puno, chairman of the Commission on Higher Education.
“Other sectors might have better or additional inputs that would be useful to us, thus they have to be consulted.”
Puno said the commission had completed the implementing rules and regulations on controlling the operation of all review centers following the tainted nursing tests.
He said the rules were not for nursing alone as there were 70 other courses involved. There should be only one set of rules and regulations for all courses.
President Arroyo has tasked the commission to regulate all nursing review centers following the controversial nursing tests.
Puno said allowing only recognized and accredited colleges to open review centers would prevent these centers from collecting exorbitant fees of up to P60,000 per student. Fel V. Maragay and Florante S. Solmerin
FROM: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=news1_oct4_2006
