758 nursing exam results in Bicol nullified

The Board of Nursing has nullified the December 2006 nursing licensure examination of 758 examinees in the Bicol region in consideration of the devastation in the area wrought by super typhoon "Reming."

According to BON member Marco Sto. Tomas, many of the examinees in the region have failed the test and they were flooded with requests from parents and examinees to invalidate the test results.

"The board deliberated on their requests and in consideration of the devastation brought by the typhoon, we decided to nullify the test of 758 examinees," Sto. Tomas told The STAR.

The results of the examination of those who passed have been upheld.

Before the test was held in December, Reming hit the Bicol provinces, notably Albay and Catanduanes, leaving most parts of the region devastated.

At the time of the test, word spread that there was an upcoming tsunami, causing many residents to panic. And seeing their town mates scampering to safety, many examinees in Legaspi City scurried out of the testing centers. Many of the examinees were returned to continue taking the examination, while others totally abandoned the test.

Sto. Tomas said they also considered the "tsunami scare" in deciding to nullify the test results.

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced yesterday that 19,712 of the 40,147 examinees passed the licensure test given by BON in Manila, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Iloilo, Legaspi, Lucena, Tacloban, Tuguegarao and Zamboanga.

The PRC added that re-takers from June 2006 examination from the Bicol region who failed the December 2006 are also covered by the nullification but they could re-take Tests 3 and 5 in June 2007.

This means that after the June 2007 test, the re-takers must take the examination all over again.

The June test had been laden with controversy after Tests 3 and 5 were leaked to some examinees prior to the examination. The leaked questions were found to have come from the manuscripts of former BON members Anesia Dioniso and Virginia Madeja.

PRC records showed the December test was topped by Jayben Perez Matamis of Unciano Colleges and Medical Center in Antipolo, with a score of 88.60 percent.