Online exams an option for examinees: CSC

FILE: Civil Service Commission at IBP Road, Batasan Hills, Quezon City (Photo by patrickroque001/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

MANILA – The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has urged professional examinees to consider taking its online examination, as all the pen and paper tests (PPTs) for 2020 had been canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic.

CSC Commissioner Aileen Lizada, however, said not all regional offices are conducting online exams but the agency is now working to strengthen it.

“Availment of the computer exams (Comex) is an option that examinees may consider. However, not all regional offices (ROs) are conducting Comex. In 2019, only eight regional offices conducted Comex: ROs 2,4,6,7,8,10, 11, and Caraga. In 2020, only ROs 4 and 8 have conducted Comex.” Lizada said.

She said the CSC will be issuing an advisory to their ROs to conduct the tests in their regions and for those that are already conducting to increase the number of schedules.

The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has not allowed more than 10 examinees per schedule as a safety protocol, she said.

Earlier, the CSC chairperson Alicia Dela Rosa-Bala issued an advisory dated June 17, canceling all the PPTs for the rest of 2020 due to the coronavirus disease pandemic.

Examination Advisory No.06, s. 2020, states that “the GCQ/MGCQ (general community quarantine/ modified general community quarantine) shall be observed with new normal conditions such as physical distancing, reduced capacity of public transportation, and restriction on mass gatherings. In light of this, please be advised that the conduct of the civil service examinations via the pen and paper test (PPT) for CY 2020, is hereby canceled”.

Affected examinations include the Fire Officer Examination, Penology Officer Examination, and Basic Competency on Local Treasury Examination, all scheduled on June 21.

Also affected tests are the Aug. 9, 2020 Career Service Examination PPT Professional and the Career Service Examination PPT Sub Professional and the Oct. 11, 2020 non-eligibility examination on Intermediate Competency on Local Treasury Examination, Pre-Employment Test, Promotional Test, and the Ethics Oriented Personality Test.

CSC data shows that a total of 293,845 persons nationwide registered to take the Mar. 15, 2020 CSE-PPT exam which was supposed to be held in 66 testing locations nationwide but was earlier suspended due to Covid-19.

Meanwhile, Lizada said other CSC programs were also affected by the lockdowns such as the examinations and training programs, and other activities including the celebration of the 120th Philippine Civil Service Anniversary in September.

“In the Resolution approved and signed by the Commission and the corresponding advisory issued, the canceled examinations for 2020 will be rescheduled in 2021. We will continuously monitor developments especially the requirements and guidelines being issued by the IATF which we need to consider and comply in the conduct of exams,” Lizada said.