The House committee on higher and technical education, chaired by Rep. Mark Go of Baguio City approved a bill scrapping the no permit, no exam policy in schools.
Go also recommended House Bill 1160 for plenary approval.
Go said the schools should allow students to take exams even if they have unpaid school dues. He added the issue of school fees can be a challenge to students with or without the COVID-19 pandemic since unexpected family emergencies could occur.
“Removing the no permit, no exam policy is also advantageous for the schools so students can take exam on the same day, hindi iyong dun lang sila mage-exam once they already paid their tuition,” Go said.
“Let them take the exam. The school can [instead] hold their credentials until they pay the amount [due], or they won’t be allowed to enroll the following semester or year. Kawawa naman ang magaling ang bata, na ready to take the exam,” Go added.
The bill’s principal author, Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel welcomed the approval of the measure.
“We should remove this kind of burden [of no permit, no exam] to our students “ Manuel said, noting that schools should unburden the students of worries about finances ahead of taking exams which can affect them mentally and economically.
“We believe that the policy of no permit, no exam can bar students who have unpaid dues from obtaining their marks regardless of how hard they work for their grades,” Manuel said.
The bill’s oppositor, the Association of Local Colleges and Universities (ALCU) executive director and Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa chief operating officer and president Dr. Raymundo Arcega and Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) managing director Joseph Estrada, said “the no permit, no exam policy is a reasonable regulatory policy and ensures accountability.”
“This [no permit, no exam] is based on justified and acceptable reasons and also about exacting accountability on the student. Those who could not pay would no longer pay on time in the absence of moral compulsion,” Estrada said.
“Tuition is the lifeblood of the private HEIs (higher educational institutions) and if they are not allowed to implement reasonable collection of tuition, private HEIS will crumble, and higher education too, considering the private HEI’s participation in higher education,” he added.
