Lapus won’t lift no permit, no exam policy

MANILA, Philippines – Department of Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said yesterday he will not issue an order that would allow grade school and high school students with delinquent accounts in private schools to take their exams.

“I don’t think I can order private schools to do something like that. The most I can do is make an appeal similar to that I made at the start of the school year last year for private school not to raise (their) tuition,” he said.

Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino, in a letter, urged Lapus to order private elementary and secondary schools to be flexible in implementing their “no permit, no exam” policy since many families were affected by recent floods, while some parents lost their jobs due to the economic recession.

His letter follows a move by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to issue a memorandum ordering colleges and universities to allow students with arrears to take examinations.

The Kabataan party-list and the National Union of Students of the Philippines recently launched a hotline (352-1054) for students and parents to report higher education institutions not complying with the CHED order.   – Rainier Allan Ronda, Philippine Star