ECE Board Examinations: Examinees allege there was leakage

CEBU, Philippines – At least 15 Electronics and Communications Engineering

graduates in the Visayas and Mindanao, who took the recent board exam in Cebu are
asking the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to investigate the alleged
leakage in the examination.

The graduates, who requested to anonymity out of fear, sought the assistance of the
media yesterday, a day after the exam, citing information shared to them by some of
the examinees.They, however, assured to cooperate should there be formal
investigation on the matter. A copy of the supposed leakage shows several questions
in the math subject that allegedly came out during the examination last Sunday.

According to them, at least 13 questions from the "leaked-questionnaire" in Math

came out during the board exam. The leaked questions comprise 26 percent of the 50-
item test for the subject. The graduates said the percentage is already big enough to
help those who got the leakage to pass the exam because the passing percentage is
only 70 percent for each of the four subjects -- Math, General Engineering and
Applied Sciences, Electronics Engineering and Electronics System and Technologies.

They allegedly got the leaked-questions from another board taker, who reviewed at
Excel Review Center.

According to them, the questionnaire was showed to those who reviewed at Excel
during their final coaching day.The complainants said they did not believe at first
until last Sunday when they found out that some of the questions in the board exam
were exactly the same.

They were also surprised that most of the questions that came out in the EST subject
were standard, which they claimed that Excel reviewees knew it beforehand.

In fact, some Excel reviewees were jubilant after the test last Sunday claiming that
they are 80 percent sure of passing the board. The board exam in Cebu was held in the
University of Cebu Main Campus and in the Southwestern University.Engineer
Santos Cuervo, vice president of Excel Review Center, denied the insinuations that
their review center obtained a leakage from the Board of Electronics Engineering that
prepares the questions.

The Board is chaired by Engineer Sylvia Marcelo.

Marcelo was not available for comment as of press time.Cuervo admitted having
provided their reviewees with take-home questionnaires with corresponding answers
but denied those were leaked-questions.Cuervo said if it was true that some of the
review questions they provided came out during the board it was just coincidence.

He explained that it was possible that the examiners who prepared the board exam
questions used the same reference as them.

"Posible na nga nagkapareha tungod kay may mga questions nga kopyahon lang og
largo sa reference book," Cuervo said.
Cuervo said this is not the first time that such incident occurred during board exams.

"It already happened in the past, kami gud sa Excel kusog mi mo-research. Mo-palit
gani mi og on-line reference kun wala dinhi sa Pilipinas," Cuervo said.

Cuervo urged those who claimed that there was a leakage in the board exam to file the
appropriate complaint before the PRC. He said they are willing to cooperate should
there be a formal investigation.Cuervo also claimed that the complaints maybe
orchestrated by their rival review centers.

The graduates who exposed the alleged irregularity, however, said they were not
prodded by anyone to complain. They only want fair play.Some of those who
complained graduated with honors in respected universities in Cebu,Visayas and
Mindanao.In fact, one member of the group was a national quiz-bowler.They have
decided to come out before the release of the results to avoid accusations that they are
doing it because they failed. In fact, they expressed willingness to re-take the exam
even if would pass should the PRC order a retake. -/NLQ (FREEMAN)