Anti-“no-permit, No-exam” Hotline Opens Pandora’s Box of Complaints

February 1, 2010

Solon asks CHED, DepEd to probe and prohibit fee impositions

Kabataan Party-list Raymond “Mong” Palatino today filed House Resolution No. 1577 directing the House committees on basic education and higher and technical education to direct the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) “to probe and prohibit the imposition of questionable and exorbitant fees on students as a requirement to complete their academic units.”

HR1577 was brought forth by numerous complaints from parents and students from elementary, high school and college, following the launching of Kabataan Party-list and NUSP’s (National Union of Students of the Philippines) “student report hotlines” with regard to the implementation of CHED Memorandum 02-2010.

CHED Memo 02-2010 allows students with delinquent accounts to take school examinations. The memo was a pledge made by the agency upon hearing of Palatino’s House Bill 6799 or the Anti-“No-Permit, No-Exam” Policy Bill in the House committee on higher and technical education.

“Our anti-‘no-permit, no-exam’ campaign seems to have opened the Pandora’s Box on more questionable, irrelevant and unjust fee requirements being imposed on students,” Palatino said.

Palatino cited for instance one parent’s complaint of exorbitant 50% interest imposed on late payment of fees.

Expensive field trips

“Some schools apparently require students to join expensive and questionable recreational field trips that have no merit or relevance whatsoever to their academic requirements,” he said.

A parent of an EARIST student complained that her child was required to go on an Eco-Camp that they could barely afford, while another parent of a student from the University of Sto. Tomas complained that her son was required to go on a field trip to Macau worth P15,000.

“CHED and DepEd should immediately order an investigation and put a stop to these illegal and unjust impositions,” Palatino said.

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Reference:
Kabataan Party-list Rep. Mong Palatino