FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 7, 2010

Youth solon files anti “no permit, no exam policy” bill anew

In its commitment to push for accessible education, Kabataan Partylist yesterday filed House Bill No. 807 or the Anti “No Permit, No Exam Policy” Act of 2010 in time for the opening of the 15^th Congress.

HB 807 is a refined version of a similar bill, HB 6799, which the youth solon filed last 14^th Congress.

HB 6799 prompted the Commission on Higher Education to release Memorandum Order 02-2010 directing tertiary school administrations to allow students with arrears to take exams . The memo, however, fell short of enabling the agency to sanction school owners who continued the policy due to the absence of legislation.

In the explanatory note, HB 807 stated, “This directive (CHED Memo 02-2010), however, was proven to be just…an appeal without mandatory directives, and we witnessed how hundreds of schools nationwide ignored the memorandum. This strengthened our resolve that the only way for schools to be forced to follow the directive is through legislation.”

Palatino said that they have re-filed and refined the bill, “expanding its scope to embrace even elementary and high schools to protect deserving students from prematurely halting their studies”.

“We must uphold the State’s right and responsibility to exercise reasonable regulation of basic, secondary and tertiary educational institutions,”  he said.

Kabataan also filed HBs 808 and 809, or the Public Libraries Act and Philippine Traditional Games and Sports Act, respectively. ###