Examinees of the Civil Engineering Board Exam will file a TRO at the appellate court once the PRC rules unfavorably on their “no retake” petition.
By dabet Castaneda
Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No. 45, December 16-22, 2007
Civil Engineering aspirants who took the licensure exams on Nov. 17 and 18 vow to file a temporary restraining order (TRO) at the Court of Appeals (CA) once the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) rules unfavorably on their “no retake” petition.
The petition, signed by 16 examinees representing 16 colleges and universities nationwide, was filed at the PRC on Dec. 3. The PRC is expected to come up with a resolution regarding the petition on December 18.
The more than 4,000 board examinees filed a petition to set aside an earlier decision of the PRC nullifying the examination results of two subjects (Hydraulics and Geotechnical Engineering and Structural Engineering and Construction). The petitioners also asked the PRC to release the examination results and order the oath taking of the board passers.
Nullified
The PRC Board of Civil Engineering (BCE), in a resolution (Resolution No. 07-12) dated Nov 23, ordered the nullification of the results for the two subjects mentioned above due to “statistical improbability” and “cheating.”
The BCE found it “statistically improbable” that 461 of the 4,782 examinees got a perfect score in Hydraulics and Geotechnical Engineering.
The BCE has requested Dr. Milagros Ibe, commission consultant on test construction and statistics, to make an immediate study and analysis on the matter.
The BCE said it had a similar case in 2002 where it nullified the examination results of the June 2002 Marine Deck Officers licensure examinations due to the unusually high grades/ratings obtained by the examinees.
Meanwhile, two examinees from the testing center in Cagayan de Oro City in Mindanao, southern Philippines, were caught using their mobile phones during the exams for Structural Engineering and Construction. The mobile phones, which contained 21 out of 30 correct answers to the test, were confiscated by an agent of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Due to this, the BCE resolved to administer a retake for the two subjects on Jan 12, 2008.
Release results
In an interview, examinee Dianne May Casimiro of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), said it was actually possible that the examinees would get high scores in Hydraulics and Geotechnical Engineering because the test questions were only about the basics and fundamentals of the subject.
“Personally, nadalian ako,” (I found it easy.) Casimiro said. She added that she missed out on two questions but she nevertheless believes she got as high as 90 percent in the subject. Casimiro said the examinees were informed by the BCE that more than 1,000 examinees got 90 percent of the correct answers on the subject while 50 percent of the examinees were above the passing grade of 70 percent.
Casimiro said they have petitioned for the PRC to reveal the results of the Nov. 17 and 18 examinations. The results should have been out on the PRC website on Nov. 21 and in broadsheets the next day. No results have been published so far.
Optional retake?
In a dialogue with the BEC last December 6, Casimiro said, the examinees were given an option to retake the licensure exams on Jan. 12. If an examinee takes the exams on Jan. 12 and passes, s/he will automatically take the oath.
If the examinee fails on the retake, s/he will have to wait for the results of the civil case filed against the PRC. If the court decides in favor of the examinees, the PRC will follow the results of the Nov. 17-18 exams.
If the court favors the PRC, however, the results of the Nov. 17-18 exams will never be released. Hence, those who will not retake the exams on Jan. 12 will have to retake the exams next year.
A resolution for a congressional inquiry on the PRC decision to nullify the Nov. 17-18 civil engineering licensure examinations was passed by partylist groups led by Bayan Muna (people first), Anakpawis (toiling masses) and Gabriela Women’s Party. This follows a similar investigation on the nursing exams last year. Bulatlat
