Kabataan group slams schools on ‘no permit, no exam’ policy

The Kabataan Party-list group said yesterday it would file a bill that would junk the “no permit, no exam policy” of schools as well as other regulations imposed by colleges and universities that only contributed to the already dire situation of decreasing access to education.

The group said it would file House Bill 6799 which also seeks to penalize colleges and universities imposing a no permit, no exam policy and other regulations prohibiting students from taking their periodic or final examinations due to unpaid tuition and other fees.

“The (no permit, no exam policy) effectively bars unpaid students from graduating or obtaining an academic degree, regardless of how hard they have worked for it or how much they academically deserve it. Students with delinquent fees have the right to take an examination,” the bill explanatory note explains.

Under the proposed, law offending tertiary schools shall be punished with suspension or cancellation of their permits and a fine of P30,000 to P50,000.

“The government should ensure that the youth’s right to education is not compromised due to financial difficulties. Dapat lamang na parusahan ng gobyerno ang mga kolehiyo at unibersidad na itinuturing ang edukasyon bilang isang negosyo. Educational institutions should not act as capitalist-educators, especially in light of the economic crisis,” the group said.

It added a regulation such as the no permit, no exam policy contributes to the already dire situation of decreasing access to education under the Arroyo regime.

“Maraming estudyante ang hindi nakapagpapatuloy ng kanilang pag-aaral dahil hinahayaan ng gobyerno ang mga kolehiyo na mag-impose ng ganitong mapagsamantalang regulasyon,” it said.

It added students’ enrollment rate in tertiary education has declined under the Arroyo administration.

It claimed records would show of 100 Grade 1 pupils, only two-thirds will finish Grade 6; out of this, only 58 will go on to high school; only 43 will actually finish high school, and only 14 will finish college with a degree.

Earlier, the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) had sounded the alarm on the deteriorating quality of higher education in the country due to sub-standard facilities and lack of qualifications of faculty members.

Ched Chairman Dr. Emmanuel “Manny” Angeles said if the present trend continues and no intervention is done, it would take about 10 to 20 years to rehabilitate the country’s higher education sector.

Angeles disclosed at the onset Ched needed about P40 billion for the next five years to improve the quality of higher education in the country to make it at par with the rest of the world.

He said the amount will be on top of the regular annual funding that the commission gets from Congress and will be used not only to upgrade facilities and equipment in colleges and universities but also provide for scholarships for students and teachers alike.  –Jason Faustino, Daily Tribune