NegOr solon pushes for abolition of no permit, no exam policy
by: Rachelle M. Nessia
by: Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, March 29 (PIA) --- Negros Oriental Third District Rep. Pryde Henry Teves wants the “No Permit, No Exam” policy, reportedly being practiced in some private schools across the country, abolished as it is to the disadvantage of students and teachers.
Teves, who is co-sponsoring the Anti-No Permit, No Exam Act now being deliberated at the Congress, said the policy poses a hassle for both the students who are unable to pay their school fees and their teachers.
“While the student who is barred from taking an examination due to non-payment of school fees is looking for money, his classmates are already taking the test. Once that student finally has the money to pay for the fees, he is at a disadvantage because he spent time scouring for money when he should have been studying for the exam,” said Teves.
Teachers, on the other hand, will also be burdened with more school work as they will have to prepare a different examination for the student.
The Anti-No Permit, No Exam Act introduced by the Kabataan Partylist aims to correct the policy imposed by private schools prohibiting students who have not partially or fully settled their school fees from taking their periodic or final examinations.
The bill states that “such policy effectively bars unpaid students from graduating or obtaining an academic degree, regardless of how hard they have worked for it or how much they academically deserve it.”
Teves, however, stressed that should the bill be passed, a corresponding bill calling for non-disclosure of the students' financial standing should likewise be made into law.
The congressman explained that the Anti-No Permit, No Exam Act, if passed, may prompt some private schools to deny the admission of students who they deem might not be able to cope with the school's tuition fees during enrollment.
“Some private, exclusive schools actually require students to fill up forms asking about their parents' employment and annual income during the entrance process, and this might lead to discrimination, that students will be admitted based on their financial capacity and not how they scored in the entrance tests,” stressed Teves.
The Third District solon said he has already raised his proposal with the committee responsible for the Anti-No Permit, No Exam policy.
The Commission on High Education (CHED) has earlier issued a memorandum directing universities and colleges nationwide to allow students to take their final exams regardless of their pending balance of payment of school fees, but the Kabataan Party List claim that the directive has been largely ignored by “hundreds of schools” nationwide. (RMN/PIA-7 Negros Oriental)
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NegOr LGU takes down smoking signages in public buildings
by: Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, March 29 (PIA) --- The local government of Zamboanguita in Negros Oriental, Philippines marked the full-blown enforcement of its Smoke-Free Ordinance by implementing “Operation Tangtang” in its coastal villages.
Together with a task force of enforcers, Zamboanguita Mayor Kit Marc Adanza on March 24 took down smoking signages in public buildings within the town's coastal villages. “We either removed the signages ourselves or asked the establishments to remove the smoking signages as part of the enforcement of the ordinance,” said Adanza.
Zamboanguita's one-year old Ordinance No. 15, which is a slightly modified version of Amlan's pioneering smoke-free ordinance, was created in 2009 and marked its first year anniversary on December 11, 2010.
“After a year of focusing on raising awarness on the ordinance, series of information drives and advocacy campaigns, we are now fully enforcing the law in Zamboanguita,” the mayor said.
Penalties for violating the ordinance are reprimand for first offense, P500 for second offense and P1,500 for third offense.
Despite the strict enforcement of the ordinance, Adanza stressed that the local government considers smokers not as violators but victims of the vice.
“We are not prohibiting the act of smoking, only smoking within public places and most importantly, second-hand smoking,” said Adanza.
In April this year, the LGU will start accepting enrollees to its Cessation Clinic for locals who wish to quit the habit.
The mayor said no one has been penalized yet for violating said ordinance. (RMN/PIA-7 Negros Oriental)
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LGU takes down smoking signages in public buildings
by: Rachelle M. Nessia
by: Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, March 29 (PIA) --- The local government of Zamboanguita in Negros Oriental, Philippines marked the full-blown enforcement of its Smoke-Free Ordinance by implementing “Operation Tangtang” in its coastal villages.
Together with a task force of enforcers, Zamboanguita Mayor Kit Marc Adanza on March 24 took down smoking signages in public buildings within the town's coastal villages. “We either removed the signages ourselves or asked the establishments to remove the smoking signages as part of the enforcement of the ordinance,” said Adanza.
Zamboanguita's one-year old Ordinance No. 15, which is a slightly modified version of Amlan's pioneering smoke-free ordinance, was created in 2009 and marked its first year anniversary on December 11, 2010.
“After a year of focusing on raising awarness on the ordinance, series of information drives and advocacy campaigns, we are now fully enforcing the law in Zamboanguita,” the mayor said.
Penalties for violating the ordinance are reprimand for first offense, P500 for second offense and P1,500 for third offense.
Despite the strict enforcement of the ordinance, Adanza stressed that the local government considers smokers not as violators but victims of the vice.
“We are not prohibiting the act of smoking, only smoking within public places and most importantly, second-hand smoking,” said Adanza.
In April this year, the LGU will start accepting enrollees to its Cessation Clinic for locals who wish to quit the habit.
The mayor said no one has been penalized yet for violating said ordinance. (RMN/PIA-7 Negros Oriental)