The Varsitarian

Feb. 11, 7:01 p.m. - THE UNIVERSITY slid to second place in the recent physical therapy (PT) licensure examinations, while it failed to keep its spot as the second top-performing school in the occupational therapy (OT) board exam.

UST registered an 84.62-percent passing rate in the off-season PT board exams, with 11 passers out of 13 examinees. This was down from last year’s 87.5 percent, which made UST the country’s top-performing school.

This year, the University trailed behind Mariano Marcos State University of Ilocos Norte, which had an 88.24-percent passing rate or 15 passers out of 17 examinees.

As in last year, there was no Thomasian on the Top 10 list. In 2010, Thomasian Sancha Selene Estavillo topped the off-season board examinations for physical therapists.

The national passing rate for physical therapists stood at 50.49 percent or 308 passers out of 610 examinees, slightly higher than last year’s 49.44 percent or 310 passers out of 627 examinees.

Meanwhile, no school landed on the list of top-performing schools in the occupational therapy licensure exams. The University registered a 47.37 percent passing rate, with only 18 passers out of 38 examinees.

Last year, UST, with an 80-percent passing rate (16 passers out of 20 examinees), placed behind University of the Philippines-Manila (88.89 percent, eight passers out of nine examinees) on the list for top-performing schools.

This year’s national passing rate for OT was 37.50 percent (27 passers out of 72 examinees), down from 2011’s 40.54 (30 passers out of 74 examinees).

UST has been the top producer of occupational therapists in the off-season board exams for the past three years. R. D. Madrid