Private schools balk at looming ban on ‘no permit, no exam’ policy

MANILA, Philippines — An organization of private schools nationwide warned that private higher education institutions (HEIs) may run out of operating cash in two months if the government banned the “no permit, no exam” policy.

Bernard Villamor, chair of the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (Cocopea), said that the remaining fee collections of private HEIs could only cover an average of 7.7 months of operating expenses.

If the no permit, no exam policy were prohibited, the study indicated that the financial capacity of 27 private colleges and universities would “significantly weaken” and their remaining funds would only cover two months’ worth of operating expenses.

“After which, colleges and universities would run out of operating cash and would need to find external or other sources of financing (such as loans or savings) to cover their costs. This is a significant drop from the 7.7-month average colleges and universities have under the status quo,” Villamor said in a statement on Wednesday.

On May 8, the House of Representatives passed House Bill No. 7584, barring schools from implementing such a policy and allowing private school students to take their tests despite unpaid fees. The house also passed last December House Bill No. 6483, allowing college students with unpaid fees to take their final exams “on good cause and justifiable grounds.”

Unviable

In the Senate, 22 lawmakers voted on March 22, for the passage of Senate Bill No. 1359, or the No Permit, No Exam Prohibition Act.

But according to Villamor, the viability of private schools might be “endangered” with the lack of “effective means” to collect or ensure the prompt payment of tuition and other school fees.

The Cocopea chief further argued that impairing the private schools’ collection of fees might result in more closure of schools that rely on the prompt payment of fees.

“Displaced students will likely transfer to public schools, which are already overwhelmed by the number of students who transferred due to the pandemic,” Villamor said.

Citing an April 2023 study by the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines, he said about 49 percent of the 224 basic education private schools reported that they were “currently already at a loss financially or are only breaking even in terms of monthly expenses.”

While the bills had safeguards to ensure that parents would still pay their financial obligations, he said the interventions, like non-readmission for the next school year or semester, and withholding of grades, certificates and diplomas, “might not be adequate.”

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