An association of Catholic schools has voiced concerns about a measure that prohibits any school policy that bars students from taking examinations due to unpaid tuition.
The Catholic Educational Association in the Philippines (CEAP) said the measure may place the financial viability of private schools at risk.
CEAP Executive Director Jose Allan Arellano said that private schools have no other fund source, unlike their public counterparts, which are funded by the government.
“We hope they will understand why we do it in the Catholic education and the private education, where we really need to require payments of the tuition from parents,” Arellano said over Radio Veritas.
CEAP is composed of some 1,500 Catholic schools and universities across the country.
All 22 senators on Monday voted for the passage of Senate Bill 1359, otherwise known as the “No Permit, No Exam Prohibition Act”.
In December last year, the House of Representatives also approved HB 6483 that aims to allow college students with unpaid and other school fees to take periodic and final exams on “good cause and justifiable grounds” such as force majeure and emergencies.
