Laguna solon lauds measure vs ‘no permit, no exam’ policy

DT·20 March 2024, 5:03 pm·1 min read

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Laguna solon lauds measure vs ‘no permit, no exam’ policy — (FILES) Learning curveball Students of Araullo High School in Manila enjoy a light day at school on Thursday, but come next school year, more than 17,000 Grade 11 students currently enrolled in state universities and colleges and local universities and colleges might not be smiling as they could get displaced from the Commission on Higher Education order for SUCs and LUCs to stop offering the senior high school program. Last December, CHEd issued a memorandum directing the governing bodies of SUCs and LUCs to cease the SHS program as there are no longer legal bases to fund it.
(PHOTOGRAPH BY Joey Sanchez Mendoza )

San Pedro City Representative Ann Matibag on Wednesday has lauded the passage of the “No Permit, No Exam Prohibition Act” as she also hopes that students will now not miss their final examinations because of unpaid tuition fees after the establishment of the new law.

Matibag – who was one of the principal authors of the measure – stressed that she does not want the students to experience what her husband, Atty. Melvin Matibag, encountered during his student days when he did not take his exam due to unpaid tuition fee.

“My husband had experienced to be singled out and embarrassed in the middle of his class because he did not take his exam due to unpaid tuition fee. I don't want students to experience the same fate as my husband, thus I am very much thankful that this law has already passed,” Matibag said.

“I hope no one will suffer the same experience before,” she added.

The passage of the Republic Act 11984 will allow financially disadvantaged students from taking exams even without a permit, while also balancing out the needs of schools and colleges across the country.

As part of her advocacies in the province of Laguna, she also assured that the bill was not diluted in any form and would give ample protection to students who cannot not pay on time.

The Republic Act 11984 was signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last 11 March 2024.

“We laud President Marcos for signing RA 11984, of which I have proposed. The signing of the law is the culmination of my campaign that would give every student a fair chance of studying and take their exams even if they have outstanding fees in their school,” Matibag said.

Matibag said the law has enough safeguards and provisions that would not only help poor students, but also the schools.

“We really believe the safeguards included in the current law are fair enough for both students and school administrators. We are trying to balance out the needs of both parties as we do not want both students and the administrators to be at the losing end of this bill,” Matibag said.

“We pursue this law because we want to protect the welfare of the students and the schools,” she added.