STUDENT groups were dismayed by the decision of the Professional Regulation Commission to push through with the holding of the Physician Licensure Examination in September.

The Philippine Medical Students’ Association and the National Union of Students of the Philippines lamented that the PRC failed to consider the health and safety of examinees.

“PMSA and NUSP stand firm in the call to postpone the scheduled September 2021 PLE due to the exponentially growing number of active cases,” the groups said in a statement.

“Choosing to proceed with the exam not only puts the examinees at risk of contracting the virus but also endangers the health and safety of proctors, administrators, and facility personnel, and their relatives and family members to whom they might pass on the virus after possible exposure due to the 4-day face-to-face examination,” they added.

The commission’s Board of Medicine had said that administering the PLE is in line with the call of the Department of Health “to produce newly licensed physicians in order to augment the health care workforce and to ensure unhampered delivery of health services.”

The groups called on the PRC to release specific guidelines on the PLE for all community quarantine levels; provide a standardized form of support to all examinees and ensure support to any PLE taker, examination proctors and administrators, and facility personnel who will be infected with Covid19.

“There are less than 12 days before the first day of the exam and no clear guidelines have been released on the conduct of the examination as of writing,” they said.

“These guidelines are vital as various cities and regions constantly experience changes in community quarantine classifications which the government announces with such short notice,” they added.

Commission on Higher Education Chairman Prospero De Vera III backed the decision of PRC, saying that many wanted the PLE to be conducted.

“Kasi marami nang gustong makatapos. So, we have to balance all the sentiments of the different sectors. Ang importante naman ay ligtas yung mga kukuha ng exams,” he said.