Marcos signs law banning ‘no-permit-no-exam’ policy

President Ferdinand “Bongbong”  Marcos Jr. has signed into law Republic Act No. 11984, mandating all public and private schools to allow disadvantaged students with unsettled tuition and other school fees to take their periodic and final examinations without required permits. 

RA No. 11984 or the “No Permit, No Exam Prohibition Act” covers all public and private basic (K to 12) institutions, higher education institutions, and technical-vocational institutions (TVIs) that offer long-term courses exceeding one year. 

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is mandated to define “disadvantaged students.” 

Its local officers will also be required to issue certificates to the affected students, verifying that they experienced calamities, emergencies, force majeure, or other “good and justifiable reasons” under the rules and regulations to be set by the DSWD. 

Educational institutions may allow the student to take his examination and release their relevant records and credentials per their policies, as well as rules and regulations. 

However, the schools are authorized to require the submission of a promissory note, withhold records and credentials of students, and exercise other legal and administrative remedies for the collection of fees. 

Violation of the law may subject the educational institutions to administrative sanctions to be imposed by the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. 

The law will take effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper, or general circulation.

Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., an author of the measure in the Senate, welcomed the enactment of the law.

“Let us continue to advocate for the Filipino youth so that they may reach greater heights… Poverty should never cripple them and shatter their dreams,” Revilla said. —NB, GMA Integrated News