Nursing board passers slam test retake

By Margaux Ortiz, Christine Avendaño
Inquirer
Last updated 02:07am (Mla time) 10/03/2006

Published on Page A18 of the October 3, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

MORE than 200 nursing graduates who passed the tainted June examinations yesterday held a rally in front of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) in Manila to protest President Macapagal-Arroyo’s order for a partial retake of the test.

“We are disappointed with the sudden turnaround of the President,” Renato Aquino, who spoke in behalf of the board passers, said in an interview with reporters.

Aquino, a graduate of Family Clinic Colleges in Manila, said Ms Arroyo had declared a no retake policy on the examinations on Aug. 27 and Aug. 28.

“We wonder what pushed her to change her mind and decide on the retake without even consulting the PRC and the students,” he added.

Aquino stressed that the order had preempted the pending decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) on the issue.

“We are all for the prosecution of those responsible for the leakage, but we passed the exams fair and square and should not be made to suffer,” he said.

Job offersAccording to him, many of the board passers have undergone training programs and are preparing to work abroad.

“Many recruiting and staffing agencies have been approaching us to offer us jobs,” he said.

Aquino added that nursing graduates in Zamboanga, Cebu, Baguio, Bacolod and Bohol also held simultaneous rallies to protest the retake order.

Commission on Filipinos Overseas chair Dante Ang had earlier declared that Ms Arroyo’s order stays, despite the pending case at the CA.

Ang made the statement as Malacañang appeared to backtrack on the President’s decision for a retake of the June exam, which was tainted by allegations that the test questions were leaked beforehand.

This was after Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Malacañang was not taking final action until the CA resolved various petitions pushing for a reexamination.

But yesterday, Ermita said the President would be issuing within a few days an executive order that would state whether or not there would a retake, as well as the “rationale” for her decision.

“We will know whether there will be a retake or not … If there is a retake, it will include the coverage of the exam and if there is no retake, the reason for it,” he told reporters.