The Bar Exams this year will be ‘digitalized, localized’—here’s what it means
For the first time in the history of the Bar Exams, the Supreme Court has decided to hold the yearly examinations, to be held on all four Sundays of November, in a “digitalized” and “localized" format.
This comes after the Bar Exams for aspiring lawyers was postponed last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the digital Bar Exams do not mean it will be done remotely. Rather, it means examinees this year will have to take the exams using their own laptops (that can access WiFI, of course) at localized testing sites. This is a departure from the traditional handwritten exams.
The Supreme Court said in a Bar bulletin released today, Feb. 15, that it is still in the process of identifying the specific “localized” testing sites.
Guidelines for the application to take the Bar Exams will be released by May, when the local testing sites have already been determined. The application will be done online.
“Examinees will be assigned in testing centers in a locality closest to their residence or the school they graduated from, or for any other consideration,” the bulletin said.
Examinees will be given the chance to download the computer software that will be used for the examinations, so they can familiarize themselves with the program before the actual Bar Exams.
The bulletin includes a list of minimum system requirements for the laptops that examinees should use for the Bar Exam—specifically, “WiFi-enabled laptops, which must have an integrated display screen, keyboard, and trackpad or pointer device, with sufficient internal battery power.”
Tablets, desktops, Linux-based devices, and smartphones will not be allowed.
The laptops that will be used shall be checked by Court personnel. Hygiene protocols will be observed. In addition, the bulletin said the Supreme Court will “explore arrangements for a predominantly Saliva RT-PCR testing modality in each of the testing sites.”
The exams—to be held on November 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2021—will also be checked digitally.
The Supreme Court prepared for the "localized" and “digitalized” version of the Bar Exams last month. It held a pilot mock bar examination on January 31 at the Saint Louis University Law School, Ateneo de Manila University School of Law, and the UP College of law.