(Eagle News) — The Supreme Court will hold two mock bar examinations in several law schools and other activities in the country to test the viability of computerized exams under a localized and proctored setting.
According to Bar Bulletin No. 16 s. 2020 issued by the Office of 2020/2021 bar chair Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, this proposed setting would do away with the traditional handwritten examinations, “which have long been deemed to affect the evaluation of answers and distorted the playing field.”
The bulletin said this would “also facilitate the expeditious evaluation of the answers of bar candidates and the early release of the bar examination results.”
The mock exams and other activities, the bulletin said, will be done in partnership with the Philippine Association of Law Schools and “other relevant sectors.”
“Building on the knowledge to be gained from these endeavors, the Office of the Bar Chairperson can assess early on the most apt modality for the bar examinations proper,” the bulletin signed by the current bar chair said.
The bulletin said an announcement shall be made in the first quarter of 2021 as to the modality of the 2020/2021 bar exams in order to give ample time for bar candidates to adjust.
Upon deliberation and approval by the court en banc, though, each subject shall already have three bar examiners.
The bulletin said this was to “maximize efficiency in the evaluation of answers, in light of the projected increase in examinees due to the postponement of the 2020 bar examinations.”
“These innovations reflect the court’s leap toward a more inclusive and fair admission to the practice of law. Such measures are not only necessary but also inescapable consequences of our current demands. The COVID-19 pandemic ignited the resolve to effect the much-needed reforms in a system long pervaded with inequities. Ultimately, they ensure more reliable and equitable bar examinations,” the bulletin said.
