Labor chief Bello wants to do away with licensure exams

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Wednesday raised the possibility of doing away with licensure exams, particularly for law and nursing professions.

At a virtual press briefing, Bello said he recommended with the Philippine Nurses Association and the Board of Nursing to “do away with [licensure] examination.”

“Bakit kelangan pa ng examination? (Why is there a need for an examination?),” the Labor chief asked.

He also floated the same idea on the bar examinations for aspiring lawyers.

“Tutal ang estudyante four years pre-law, four years proper. Dadaan ka sa rigorous scrutiny graduate ka 'tas dadaan ka pa sa bar? (In fact, a student takes four years of pre-law, and another four years of law proper. They undergo rigorous scrutiny and then they will have to take the bar?),” he said.

The Labor chief said a nursing course is already expensive and taking board exams is an added burden. He also argued that students seeking to enter the nursing profession already took so many tests and exams.

Bello said as long as the school where a nursing student graduated is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) there is no need for licensure exams.

Apart from law and nursing professions, the Labor chief also raised the possibility of abolishing licensure exams for engineers and dentists.

He said the abolishing of licensure exams might be his “pet bill” should he decide to run for Congress.—AOL, GMA News