MANILA, Philippines — The Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) has scheduled 101 licensure examinations this year to make up for the low number of exams conducted in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
PRC chairman Teofilo Pilando Jr. said Thursday that only 212,000 applied for exams in 2020 as opposed to the 660,000 in 2019.
The PRC was also only able to conduct 11 exams last year as compared to the 83 exams conducted in 2019, he added.
“To makeup, we have scheduled 101 licensure examinations for 2021,” he said in a Laging Handa briefing.
However, there are professional boards that have recommended the cancellation of exams “for various reasons,” Pilando said.
Last year, PRC postponed licensure exams due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last month, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases allowed PRC to conduct licensure examinations from January to March 2021.
Pilando said PRC is prioritizing exams for professions related to the Covid-19 pandemic, such as medical technology and sanitary engineering.
Exams on veterinary medicine are already ongoing, he added, while exams for social workers will be conducted next week.
In the following months, PRC will conduct exams for physicians, respiratory therapists, and optometrists, Pilando said.
The PRC chief noted that examinees as well as exam personnel are required to undergo quarantine and Covid-19 swab testing prior to examination.
Pilando further said PRC has also designated more exam venues, where the examinee capacity is lessened to 18 individuals from the previous 24 in accordance with social distancing rules.