House panel approves bill scrapping no permit, no exam policy

The House higher and technical education panel on Monday approved House Bill 1160 scrapping the no permit, no exam policy in schools.

Lawmakers agreed that the schools should allow students to take exams even if they have unpaid school dues, provided that the schools can impose other measures such as withholding clearances or credentials pending settlement of school dues.

"We should remove this kind of burden [of no permit, no exam] to our students lalo na kapag papalapit na ang exam period...kesa makapagfocus paano makakapaghanda [sa exam] at pag-aaral, puwede pa sila maapektuhan mentally and economically sa paghahabol makabayad ng school fees," Kabataan party-list Representative Raoul Manuel, principal author of the measure, said during the committee deliberations.

(We should unburden the students of worries about finances ahead of taking exams which can affect them mentally and economically as they scramble to pay the school fees.)

"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 added.

House higher and technical education panel chairman Mark Go agreed with Manuel, saying that settling 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.

But for 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, 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.

Manuel, however, cited Section 5 of his measure which states that "school authorities shall have the right to refuse issuance of school clearance to students with financial obligations to the school until all previous delinquencies are fully paid."

The rest of the lawmakers backed Manuel, saying there are a lot of ways to ensure that private HEIs will be able to collect tuition and other fees without implementing a no permit, no exam policy.

"We should allow students to take the exams pending payment of tuition, provided that there are other means [to collect] dues and that they will not take it for granted," Go said.

"We will incorporate this in the final version of the bill," he added.

The motion of Cavite Representative Lani Mercado-Revilla to have all the committee members present to be co-authors of Manuel's measure was also approved.—AOL, GMA News