SC approves digital Bar exams in November

The Supreme Court (SC) has approved the conduct of digital Bar exams in November following a successful mock test last month.

However, the Office of the Bar chairperson and SC Associate Justice Marvic Leonen clarified on Monday that the exams shall not be taken remotely.

“Examinees will still walk into testing rooms and will be proctored while taking the exams. Surveillance cameras will also be installed in all testing rooms,” Leonen’s office said in a Bar bulletin.

“Examinees will be assigned in testing centers in a locality closest to their residence or the school they graduated from, or for any other consideration. This determination shall depend on the final list of schools that would qualify as local testing sites.”

The bulletin said the traditional mode of handwritten examinations will still be allowed, but only in “very exceptional cases where it can be adequately proven that the examinee suffers from a physical disability that does not permit them to take the examinations through a computer.”

Examinees should bring their own WiFi-enabled laptops, which must have an integrated display screen, keyboard, and trackpad or pointer device, with sufficient internal battery power.

The laptops must run on Mac or Windows operating systems.

Proper hygiene protocols will be observed during the exams, which will include COVID-19 testing and proper physical distancing inside the testing rooms.

“The Court will explore arrangements for a predominantly saliva RT-PCR testing modality in each of the testing sites,” the bulletin stated.

Examiners shall also grade the Bar examinations digitally, the bulletin added.

“This makes it possible to recruit some subject matter experts from outside Metro Manila for the first time, making the assessment of the Bar examinations even more inclusive,” it said.

Following the Court’s approval of digital exams last week, the preparations will now move to the identification of local testing sites. Certified testing sites will be announced before the period for applications to take the Bar exam starts.

After the local testing sites are determined, the SC will release the guidelines for application to take the Bar exams and start accepting such applications by May.

Applications will be done online, meaning applicants need not go to Manila and visit the Office of the Bar Confidant, except when required to clarify the authenticity of the documents submitted.

“Those who have completed all the requirements to take the Bar examinations will have the opportunity to download and familiarize themselves with the computer software to be used,” the bulletin said.

Last year’s test was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, it will be held over four Sundays of November 2021.

On January 31, the SC carried out a simulation of the digital exams that involved 80 students in Metro Manila, Baguio, Cebu, and Davao.

“This proved that a more equitable and inclusive Bar examinations can be done, more so amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” the bulletin said. — RSJ/AOL, GMA News