(CNN Philippines, April 6) — A network of private school groups expressed opposition to the bills that seek to allow students with unpaid fees to take exams, stressing these would “force” schools to cease operations.
In a statement earlier this week, the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) said it “strongly opposes” House Bill 7584 and Senate Bill 1359 which would ban the “no permit, no exam” policy. “These bills will impose prohibitive provisions that will seriously affect the timely collection of tuition and other financial obligations directly needed to support the thousands of teachers and personnel as well as other school-dependent stakeholders of private educational institutions still struggling to recover from the long school closures caused by the pandemic,” it said. Since private schools depend on the payment of tuition and other fees to maintain their operations, COCOPEA warned that if Congress approves a bill that seeks to ban the “no permit, no exam” policy and the measure affects the schools’ ability to collect fees effectively, “many schools will be forced to close.” This, in turn, would “result in the disenfranchisement of thousands of students and cause job losses,” it added. The Senate passed on final reading its bill, while the lower chamber’s version of the bill hurdled second reading last March 21.
