Supreme Court sets mock test to simulate first-ever digital Bar exams

The Supreme Court will conduct a mock Bar examination this month to simulate the first digital licensure test for lawyers in November.

In a Bar bulletin issued Friday, Associate Justice and Bar Chair Marvic Leonen said around 120 students will take the mock exam across four testing sites in Baguio, Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao on January 31.

"The goal of this exercise is to improve on the procedures and technical specifications for the first-ever digital and localized Bar Examinations in November 2021," Leonen said.

He said the students who will take the mock exam will be pre-selected and will have to apply through the SC's online portal from January 12 to 20.

The students' grades in the mock exam will not be part of the actual test, Leonen said.

"No merit or demerit shall be received by students who participate in the Pilot (Mock) Bar Examinations, should they later take the actual Bar Examinations," he said.

Leonen added that the procedure and the timeline for the actual exams will be announced "soon after" the mock test - no later than February 14.

The mock Bar exams will be conducted in coordination with the Philippine Association of Law Schools, the Asia Foundation, and ExamSoft.

The SC is testing the viability of a computerized Bar exam system to replace the handwritten test.

The Bar exam for 2020 was postponed to November 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be held in Manila and Cebu City. — DVM, GMA News