CHED urged to address complaints over no-permit no-exam policy

Students’ groups on Friday asked the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to immediately act on the complaints of parents and students regarding the non-compliance of schools to its Memorandum Order No. 02, which called on higher education institutions to allow students with arrears to take examinations. Students groups, led by the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) and the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), submitted to CHED the complaints of parents and students they have gathered through their “Student Report Hotline.”

NUSP National President Einstein Recedes personally handed the complaint documents at the office of CHED Chairman Dr. Emmanuel Angeles.

“We have received reports that some colleges and universities still do not comply with CHED memo No. 02 of 2010 which orders schools to allow students with arrears to take examinations. We come to CHED today to furnish chairman Angeles a copy of the complaints we have gathered from parents and students through our Student Report Hotline” Recedes said.

“The onslaught of typhoons late last year and the current economic crunch have made it difficult for many parents and students to afford the rising cost of education. We appeal to CHED to be very strict in implementing the anti-no-permit no-exam policy,” Recedes added.

The CHED memo was released last week in response to House Bill 6799, or the “Anti-No-Permit, No-Exam Policy” filed by the Kabataan party-list September last year. The memo’s release was also in time for the mid-term examinations in most colleges and universities.

For their part, CEGP National President Vijae Alquisola has welcomed the development, saying that none of it would have happened if the students did not continuously asserted their rights to quality and accessible education.

“May this lead to our attainment of greater victories in the near future,” Alquisola said.

On the other hand, Recedes warned that while the CHED memorandum provides relief for many parents and students, fundamental educational reforms are still have to be realized.

“The deregularized increase of tuition in schools, for one, is a serious problem that the Arroyo government and CHED should address. The NUSP, together with other youth groups like CEGP and Kabataan party-list, have come up with ‘Ronda Eskwuela’ to monitor tuition increases in schools for the next academic year.

We will hop around schools to gather data on tuition hikes. We will engage CHED on this matter,” Recedes said. –JAMES KONSTANTIN GALVEZ, Manila Times