Thousands of students will retake the West Visayas Visayas State University College Admission Test (WVSUCAT) for academic year 2024-2025.

The administration of WVSU and the university’s Board of Regents decided to “invalidate” the admission test taken by nearly 21,000 students on March 10.

“There is reason to believe that the integrity of the examination has been compromised,” WVSU said in a statement on Friday, March 15.

“Conducting another examination will eliminate undue advantage for specific individuals who may have benefitted from the leaked examination items,” it added.

The date and testing centers are set to be announced soon, and examinees will receive communications from the Admissions Committee on the details through their respective emails.

“We empathize with the student examinees and their families for the inconvenience this has created. With that, we express our sincerest apologies,” WVSU said.

The decision was made public after the university disclosed that there was indeed a leakage of admission test questions based on its initial investigation on Thursday, March 14.

“The university strongly condemns the cheating that ensued following the leakage. Individuals found responsible for the leakage will face the full force of the law, based on its findings,” said WVSU Public Affairs and Marketing Communications Office head Hazel Villa.

“The public is requested to wait for the findings anytime next week, as well as options to ensure a fair approach to the cheating issue,” she added.

WVSU, meanwhile, assured the public that the ongoing investigation will continue to proceed to identify accountable individuals for this breach.

The university formed an investigation committee after a Facebook post by CJ Gania Barnezo Arellano, social media marketing director of a consultancy firm, went viral.

“My sister was one of the WVSU entrance exam takers last week, and it came to their attention later on that some students are studying these bunch of questionnaires before taking the exam, which is exactly the same as the exam they have taken,” he wrote.

“This is unfair, and it damages your institution’s integrity as a whole. We would like to hear your side about this matter and your explanation,” Arellano added.IMT

Photo by WVSU