MANILA, 27 August 2007 — Some 31,275 nursing graduates who took the June 10 and 11 licensure examinations have passed, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced yesterday.

The number represents 48.18 percent of 64,909 first-time takers, repeaters, and voluntary examinees who took the test, the biggest so far in the profession’s history.

PRC chairperson Leonor Rosero-Tripon said that of 336 graduates who retook the exam as per the decision of the Court of Appeals, 248 passed.

Of the 13,000 who retook tests 3 and 5 as required by the United States’ Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS), 68.9 percent passed.

Tripon hoped the exam results “brings a closure” to the leakage scandal that tainted the June 2006 nursing board exams, which prompted the Court of Appeals to order a retake by some of the passers. The CGFNS required those who wished to apply for a job in the US to retake the exam.

Aside from CGFNS observers who monitored the exam preparations and the exam proper, agents of the National Bureau of Investigation were with the members of the Board of Nursing and the 17 PRC staff all throughout the process, Tripon said.

She noted that the BoN members and the PRC staff involved in the June 2007 nursing board exams were also placed under an 11-day quarantine to ensure that this year’s exams would be respected by all.

Last year’s exams were mired in controversy; large chunks of the exam were leaked to examinees reviewing with certain review centers. The controversy caused the Senate to launch an inquiry, led to a court case, and finally reached the US CGFNS. Earlier, BoN member Marco Sto. Tomas said the labor department will release the results of the CGFNS examinees.

According to the results released by the PRC, 60 of the examinees made it to the Top 10, with 14 of the topnotchers coming from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila. UST was second in the PRC’s list of top performing schools with more than 100 examinees. Out of 587 examinees from the Philippines’ oldest university, 577 passed, for a passing rate of 98 percent.

Topping the list were Trinity University of Asia (formerly Trinity College of Quezon City) with 343 out of 347 examinees passing for a 99 percent rate, together with Saint Louis University of Baguio, 299 out of 302 examinees, and Saint Paul University of Iloilo, 163 of 164 passed.

Third were University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center in Manila, 214 out of 221 takers (97 percent); West Visayas State University in La Paz, Iloilo, 142 our of 146 takers (97 percent); and Saint Paul College of Manila, 97 out of 100 takers (97 percent).

For schools with 30 to 99 examinees, 1st place went to the University of the Philippines-Manila with all 65 takers making it for a 100 percent passing mark, together with Philippine Christian University-Manila, with all 33 takers passing. University of Cebu in Lapulapu and Mandaue was second with 46 out of 50 takers passing for a 92 percent score, while Universidad de Manila (City College of Manila) was third with 37 out of 41 takers passing, for a 90 percent score. (With input from Inquirer News Service)