Mix of online and written exams also being looked into
(Eagle News)–The next bar exams will not be conducted in the same manner as the previous ones.
This was confirmed by 2020/2021 bar exams chair Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, who issued the bar bulletin after Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta told a budget hearing for the judiciary that the Supreme Court was “considering” online bar exams.
Leonen confirmed that his office was specifically studying the possibility of conducting online but proctored bar exams, or a mix of online and written exams in more than two places as part of bar reforms.
The 2020/2021 bar exams chair added he has provided general briefings to the court en banc but has “not yet made a firm proposal until all the logistical and security issues have been worked out.”
He said he was also “in constant consultation” with members of the court and the bar chairs who will succeed him in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
“Definitely, the bar examinations will not be conducted as it was before. We have to embrace a better normal that is safe, effective, and equitable taking advantage of the best digital formats while at the same time acknowledging issues of security and accessibility for some applicants,” Leonen said.
He said the essential coordination with law schools will be made “at the appropriate time,” and pilot tests will be done to see the viability of some proposals.
He said “critical to the timeline” was to provide the bar applicants with information ahead of the scheduled examinations so they can be prepared for the new modalities.
“In the meantime, I urge our bar applicants to study well and address the security and safety not only of themselves but also their loved ones. The quality of your study will determine the quality of your results,” he said.
He said more definite announcements will be made by his office in due time after approval by the en banc.
Traditionally, bar exams are held during the four Sundays of November each year at the University of Santo Tomas.
COVID-19, however, prompted the SC to postpone this year’s bar to November next year.