The private education system in the country will “collapse” if the No Permit, No Exam Prohibition bills are passed into law according to the largest private school groups in the Philippines.
The groups, in a statement, reiterated that if the bills are enacted into law, “many private schools will be forced to close down, thousands of teachers and school staffers will lose their jobs, and thousands of students will be disenfranchised.”
The statement was signed by the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA), Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU), Philippine Association of Private Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAPSCU), Association of Christian Schools, Colleges, and Universities (ACSCU), and Unified TVET of the Philippines, Inc (UniTVET).
Impact on private schools
The private school groups explained that without tuition, or if its timely collection is impaired, private schools would be paralyzed, or worse, cease or close operations altogether.
“Simply put, if the law deprives them of reasonable collection of tuition, our private educational sector will collapse, and ultimately the entire Philippine education system, owing to its vital role in the delivery of education to Filipinos,” the groups said.
Senate Bill 1359, which covers private schools from elementary to tertiary and short-term vocational courses, House Bill 7584, which covers basic private institutions, and House Bill 6438, which covers higher education institutions, are currently pending at the Bicameral Conference Committee, which will harmonize conflicting provisions between the Senate and House of Representatives versions of the measure.
The groups pointed out that how financially vulnerable the private schools are during the pandemic.
“Owing to the sudden and sharp decrease of student enrollment, hundreds of private schools closed down since they were unable to sustain operations,” the groups said.
These closures, they added, disrupted access to education and resulted in unemployment.
“Displaced students transferred to the already overwhelmed public school system, and thousands of teachers and school employees lost their jobs,” the groups said. “This will likely be the same scenario for our private schools should this bill be passed into law,” they added.
Not pro-student
In a separate statement, the Davao Association of Catholic Schools (DACS) claimed that the No Permit, No Exam Prohibition bills are “not pro-student.”
“The pro-student (or learner or pupil) posture is deceptive,” the officials of DACS said.
While allowing the student to take exams without paying contractual obligations incurred in enrollment, the DACS officials explained that “it does not relieve the student – or his/her parents or guardians – from fulfilling contractual obligations.”
The officials added that the students who are in private schools will not find long-term relief in this Senate Bill.
“If they are poor, they will nevertheless have eventually to pay their financial obligations – if not to take an exam, in order to see the grade of an exam, or in order to continue to the next semester, or in order to receive one’s diploma,” they said.
“Otherwise, teachers and professors in private schools cannot be paid. And the public service of private education falls,” they added.
Meanwhile, the Association of Christian Schools, Colleges and Universities (ACSCU) strongly urged lawmakers to put the Bicameral Conference Committee meeting on hold, pending a comprehensive review of the proposed measures.
“These proposed policies were passed with undue haste and without adequate consultation with the stakeholders directly affected by them,” ACSCU President Judge Benjamin Turgano said.
“If enacted into law, they will have devastating repercussions for thousands of small private schools across the country,” he added.