House Panel Sanctions Bill Scrapping No Access, No Exam Policy

Lawmakers agreed that the schools should allow students to take exams even if they have unpaid school dues, provided that the schools can impose other measures such as withholding clearances or credentials pending settlement of school dues.

“We believe that the policy of no permit, no exam can bar students who have unpaid dues from obtaining their marks regardless of how hard they work for their grades,” Manuel added.

House higher and technical education panel chairman Mark Go agreed with Manuel, saying that settling school fees can be a challenge to students with or without the COVID-19 pandemic since unexpected family emergencies could occur.

“Removing the no permit, no exam policy is also advantageous for the schools so students can take exam on the same day, hindi iyong dun lang sila mage-exam once they already paid their tuition,” Go said.

“Let them take the exam. The school can [instead] hold their credentials until they pay the amount [due], or they won’t be allowed to enroll the following semester or year. Kawawa naman ang magaling ang bata, na ready to take the exam,” Go added.

But for Association of Local Colleges and Universities (ALCU) executive director and Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa chief operating officer and president Dr. Raymundo Arcega and Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) managing director Joseph Estrada, the no permit, no exam policy is a reasonable regulatory policy and ensures accountability.

“Tuition is the lifeblood of the private HEIs (higher educational institutions) and if they are not allowed to implement reasonable collection of tuition, private HEIS will crumble, and higher education too, considering the private HEI’s participation in higher education,” he added.

Manuel, however, cited Section 5 of his measure which states that “school authorities shall have the right to refuse issuance of school clearance to students with financial obligations to the school until all previous delinquencies are fully paid.”

The rest of the lawmakers backed Manuel, saying there are a lot of ways to ensure that private HEIs will be able to collect tuition and other fees without implementing a no permit, no exam policy.