Kabataan party-list and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), together with the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) in a joint press conference yesterday warned schools to strictly implement the ‘anti-no permit, no exam’ policy and allow students with pending arrears to take their examinations.

According to Rep. Raymond ‘Mong’ Palatino of Kabataan, “Millions of college students have already begun taking their final examinations and we will ensure that all of them, especially those having financial difficulties in completing their tuition payment, are allowed by their schools to take their exams.”

CHED released early last year memo order no. 2 that urges schools to disband any prohibitive policy that disallows students to take their exams due to unpaid tuition and other fees. CHED confirmed of the current validity of the memo.

Palatino said that his office has been receiving numerous complaints from parents and students which reveal that many schools do not comply with the existing CHED policy against ‘no permit, no exam’.

He said many students fail their subjects and even experience trauma as school administrators deny them of taking their exams due to their difficulty to complete school fees before the examination period.

Palatino furthered that he finds as “academically questionable the school measures that gauge the students’ intelligence based on their capacity to pay school fees before the set deadline. Why should a student get a failing mark just because he or she is not able to pay the skyrocketing fees on time? This glaring practice in many schools smacks of corporate profiteering and is devoid of any nurturing quality that schools should ideally have in abundance.”

As complaints from parents and students escalate, Palatino urged CHED to “not ever allow schools to bypass its authority.” He added that CHED should “exercise its mandate by monitoring and decisively penalizing offending schools adamant in allowing students with pending fees to take their exams.”

For his part, CHED Executive Director Julito Vitriolo said in a joint press conference with Palatino that the Commission will reprimand schools which violate the policy. Vitriolo also said that civil cases may be filed against offending schools and that CHED may disallow school applications including tuition increases.

Vitriolo also stressed that under section 99 of the Manual of Regulations for Private Higher Education, “no higher education institution shall deny final examinations to a student who has outstanding financial or property obligations, including unpaid tuition and other school fees corresponding to the school term.”

Palatino filed July last year House Bill no. 809 or the ‘Anti-no permit, no exam Act of 2010” which seeks to make into law a sharpened version of the CHED memos. The bill includes penalties such as fines and school permit cancelation. The bill is set to be tackled in Congress on March 23.

“We are gaining advances in our fight against the ‘no-permit, no-exam’ policy. CHED has reiterated its stand against the policy and this week, Congress is also expected to do the same” Palatino said.

Palatino and Vitriolo also urged students and parents to have the courage to report offending schools to CHED, Kabataan Partylist hotline (352-10-54) or the grievance desk of www.kabataanpartylist.com. ###