MANILA – A total of 8,241, or 72.28 percent of 11,402 examinees, passed the Bar Examination held in February, the Supreme Court (SC) announced Tuesday.

Of those who passed, 14 obtained excellent grades (higher than 90 percent), representing 0.17 percent of passers, while 761 obtained exemplary grades (85 percent to 90 percent), or 9.23 percent.

This years exam was the first in two years since the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, the first to be held in various sites, and the first that used digital means, with examinees in 29 local testing centers nationwide bringing their own laptops.

There were two cancellations prior to the February 4 and 6 schedule because of a considerable number of SC personnel and examinees who contracted Covid-19 and the damage sustained by local government units from Decembers Typhoon Odette.

The examination is a feat in itself. Regardless of the result, I congratulate each one of them. To them, I say, you showed courage. You showed resilience. You showed that you can persevere, Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the Bar Chairperson, said in a statement.

Instead of the usual practice of publishing the names of the passers with the highest grades, the SC listed the schools in terms of performance and the names of the top passers categorized into excellent and exemplary without specifying their grades.

The top five among the 15 schools with more than 100 Bar takers were Ateneo de Manila University, with a 99.64 percent passing rate (279 of 280); University of the Philippines (UP)-Diliman, 98.84 percent (341 of 345); San Beda University, 98.1 percent (259 of 264); University of San Carlos-Cebu, 98 percent (196 of 200); and University of Santo Tomas, 93.05 percent (201 of 216).

UST-Legazpi produced the topnotcher in 2019, Mae Diane Azores, before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

The reforms include the recalibration of the grading system to avoid unnecessary competition for an artificial top 10, recognizing that the examinations are not a competition. The system of pass, exemplary pass, and excellent pass without any ranking already recognizes effort without encouraging needless competition among individuals, Leonen said.

The results removed all references of fail and instead categorized them as did not finish or did not pass.

For those who made it, face your success with magnanimity and humility. For those who did not make it, accept it as a challenge. Inspire by getting back on your feet and accomplish more, Leonen said.

Nine schools had the 14 excellent passers -- UP with 4, Ateneo and University of San Carlos with 2, and one each from Arellano, Ateneo de Davao, Far Eastern University, San Beda University, University of Cebu, and University of the Cordilleras.

The most number of exemplary passers came from UP with 147, Ateneo with 100, San Beda with 94, University of San Carlos with 57, and Arellano University in fifth with 39.

Six of 27 schools with 10 or fewer takers had a passing rate of 100 percent, namely Abra Valley Colleges, Batangas State University, Rizal Memorial Colleges in Davao City, Tabaco College in Albay, University of Makati, and Western Leyte College in Ormoc City.

Meanwhile, a fire broke out in the tribunals data center in the morning.

The UPS (uninterrupted power supply) unit of the Data Center of the SC MISO (Management Information Services Office) burst. The Bureau of Fire Protection said the fire was confined, the SC said. (PNA)