MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 15 Mar) - President Gloria Arroyo allocated P20-million for a special voluntary nurses examination following a ruling by the U.S. Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) on the controversial nursing license examination last year, government media said.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Arroyo signed Executive Order No. 609 directing the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to administer the special voluntary examination to nurses who passed last year’s tainted Board of Nursing (BON) examination.
Authorities said some nursing review centers leaked answers to the examinations in exchange for money.
Arroyo’s directive stemmed from the decision of the CGFNS decision that Philippine nurses licensed pursuant to the BON test of June 2006 shall not be eligible for the grant of Visa Screen certificates.
Nurses can take the special examination either in June or December.
"The examination shall be for the equivalent of Tests III and V of the June 2006 BON examination. The results of these tests shall not affect the validity of the licenses previously issued to the voluntary examinees," the Philippine News Agency quoted Ermita as saying.
Ermita said the nursing examination process will still follow the rules and procedures as provided by the Professional Regulation Commission. DOLE will monitor all stages of voluntary examination processes and examination fees will be waived.
The E.O. 609 provides that after correction of the special voluntary nursing test, the BON shall report the results only to the DOLE secretary, unlike the previous policy where the nursing board exam result is reported to the PRC. Public announcement of those who passed the tests will be undertaken both by the DOLE and the BON chair.
The Labor department has been authorized to designate special nursing review centers duly recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
The CGFNS noted that a retake of and passing the equivalent of Tests III and V of the June 2006 BON examination shall remedy the eligibility problem of the June 2006 BON passers. (Mindanao Examiner)
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