REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 1577
INTRODUCED BY KABATAAN PARTY-LIST REP. RAYMOND V. PALATINO
A RESOLUTION
DIRECTING THE HOUSE COMMITTEES ON BASIC EDUCATION AND ON HIGHER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION TO DIRECT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND THE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION TO PROBE AND PROHIBIT THE IMPOSITION OF QUESTIONABLE AND EXORBITANT FEES ON STUDENTS AS A REQUIREMENT TO COMPLETE THEIR ACADEMIC UNITS
WHEREAS, Article XIV, Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that “The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all”;
WHEREAS, Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond Palatino filed HB 6799 or the Anti-“No Permit, No Exam Policy” Bill to address the issue of students being unable to complete their academic requirements because of financial constraints, expecially in light of recent calamities and of the country’s economic conditions;
WHEREAS, on January 20, 2010, in a hearing of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, in response to Rep. Palatino’s sponsorship speech of HB 6799 and his arguments in favor of the bill’s passage, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman Emmanuel Angeles made a concession by pledging to write a memorandum to all higher education institutions (HEI’s) requesting such institutions to suspend the implementation of various “no permit, no exam” policies;
WHEREAS, on January 22, 2010, CHED issued Memorandum Order 02-2010 (CMO 02-2010) requesting all HEI’s in the country to “allow students with delinquent accounts to take school examinations”;
WHEREAS, after CHED’s favorable response to Kabataan Partylist’s campaign to halt “no permit, no exam” policies in HEI’s, Rep. Palatino then urged the Department of Education to issue a similar memorandum imploring institutions of basic education to suspend the implementation of various “no permit, no exam” policies on their students;
WHEREAS, Kabataan Partylist and the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) set up a hotline in order to receive complaints from students and parents with regard to the non-implementation of CHED’s memorandum;
WHEREAS, through the hotline, Kabataan Partylist and NUSP received responses from students and parents complaining that despite the issuance of the CHED memorandum, many school administrations insist on imposing full payments of various fees before allowing students to take exams in order to complete their academic units;
WHEREAS, in one response, a parent from Batangas complained that an exorbitant 50% interest is imposed on late payment of fees, other parents complained that even if they made partial payments prior to examinations, their children were still not allowed to take their required examinations;
WHEREAS, Kabataan Partylist and the NUSP, aside from having received complaints with regard to the “no permit, no exam” policies in different schools, also received complaints with regard to other fees and payments required of students in order to complete their academic units not only in HEI’s but in elementary and high schools across the country;
WHEREAS, some schools apparently require their students to join expensive field trips and out-of-town activities in order to pass certain subjects; a parent of an EARIST student complained that her child was required to go on an Eco-Camp that they could barely afford; a parent of a UST student complained that her son was required to go on a field trip to Macau ;
WHEREAS, some schools apparently also require their students to pay certain fees for various activities, some questionable, that are required in order to complete or pass their subjects; a parent complained that her children were quired to sell raffle tickets; another parent complained that her son was required to pay a fee in order to watch a film in class;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED that the House Committees on Basic Education and on Higher and Technical Education direct the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education to probe the implementation of various fees on students as a requirement for the completion of academic units, aside from also probing the non-implementation of CHED’s prior memorandum requesting the suspension of “no permit, no exam” policies on HEI’s nationwide;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Congress enact legislation that shall once and for all prohibit the imposition of the full payment of exorbitant tuition and other miscellaneous fees as a requirement for the completion of students’ academic requirements.
Adopted,
REP. RAYMOND V. PALATINO
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