Octogenarian, visually impaired person take Bar exams, along with 10K hopefuls

TWO senior citizens, one of them an octogenarian, and a visually impaired person took part in the just concluded 2023 Bar examinations.

PHOTO From Supreme Court PH

According to Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando, 2023 Bar Examinations Chairman, the oldest Bar examinee this year was an 86-year-old applicant who took the tests in San Beda College – Alabang (SBCA) in Muntinlupa City. The youngest was a 23-year-old who took the test at the University of the Philippines-Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City, one of the 14 local testing centers (LTCs) nationwide.

The two senior citizens took the examinations handwritten, Associate Justice Hernando said.

Meanwhile, a visually impaired examinee was allowed to take the test through the Digital Booklet Method.

Hernando said with the aid of a Court-issued laptop with installed Non-Visual Desktop Access (NVDA) serving as the examination booklet, the visually impaired examinee was able to complete all three days of the examinations at the local testing center in Ateneo de Davao University.

NVDA is a screen reader that “reads aloud” scanned text of his books and testing booklets, enabling the examinee to study his books and take his exams through ear reading.

Hernando said while it was not the first time that an individual with visual impairment was allowed to take the Bar exams, it was the first time that the Court permitted the use of an NVDA application.

He noted that there have been visually impaired Bar applicants admitted in the past years who took the tests with the assistance of a special encoder.

The Bar applicant who took the 2020/21 Bar Examinations and one of the two applicants who took the 2022 Bar Examinations passed and are now full-fledged lawyers, Hernando reported.

The Supreme Court also allowed an examinee to take the Bar in SBCA with the assistance of a special encoder because of his visual impairment due to opthalmic meningitis.

Hernando said allowing individuals with special needs to take the exams under exceptional accommodations was a testament to his commitment to promoting accessibility and inclusivity within the framework of digitalized and regionalized Bar examinations and in line with the institutional objectives of the Supreme Court.