Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

1709

House Bill No.

Introduced by Rep. ANGELO MARCOS BARBA
2" District, Ilocos Norte

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to allow disadvantaged students enrolled in short courses
in technical-vocational institutions to take the scheduled periodic and final
examinations without requiring a permit by amending Republic Act (RA) No.
11984, otherwise known as the "No Permit, No Exam Prohibition Act "-Section |
, Article XIV of the 1987 Constitution states that:

“*Section 1. The State shall protect and promote the right of
all citizens to quality education at all levels, and shall take
appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.

Education is a basic right of all citizens that is enshrined in the 1987
Constitution. Recognizing the importance of education, young Filipinos strive
hard to learn and attain higher education for their personal growth to have
better career and chance in life. Due to the financial challenges that higher
education entails, disadvantaged students are constrained to take faster and
shorter courses offered by technical-vocational institutions to acquire technical
knowledge and skills necessary to land a job and provide for their families.

The State, understanding the economic challenges that Filipino families
face, enacted RA 11984, which mandates all public and private educational
institutions to accommodate and allow the disadvantaged students that were
unable to pay tuition and other fees to take the scheduled periodic and final
examinations without requiring a permit.

However, the current coverage of RA 11984 only includes students


enrolled in the long-term courses exceeding one (1) year in
technical-vocational institutions, which greatly affects the disadvantaged
students that are capable of taking shorter courses only due to financial
constraints. With the challenge of meeting the needs of the family, many
students opt to take short-term courses offered by technical-vocational
institutions since the same is cheaper and provides faster route to employment.

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority reported in
its 2022 Technical-Vocational Education Training (TVET) Statistics Annual
Report that there were 1,231,284 graduates out of the 1,260,244 enrollees, for a
97.70% completion rate. It showed that millions of Filipino students enroll in
technical-vocational courses, whether short-term or long-term courses, to
become skilled in their chosen sector and be employed immediately thereafter.
Hence, it is necessary to amend RA 1 1984 to become more inclusive to all
students enrolled in all courses offered by technical-vocational institutions.

Further, amending RA 11984 to include the short-term
technical-vocational courses will greatly benefit the disadvantaged students
since most of the enrollees in these courses are often the disadvantaged
students who immediately seek employment to provide a better life for their
families.

In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

ANGELO ‘OS BARBA.


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No._1709

Introduced by Rep. ANGELO MARCOS BARBA.
2" District, locos Norte

AN ACT
ALLOWING DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS ENROLLED IN SHORT
COURSES IN TECHNICAL-VOCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS TO TAKE
THE SCHEDULED PERIODIC AND FINAL EXAMINATIONS
‘WITHOUT REQUIRING A PERMIT, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 11984, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE "NO
PERMIT, NO EXAM PROHIBITION ACT"

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines
in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Section 3 of Republic Act No. 1 1984 is hereby amended to read as.
follows:

SEC. 3. Coverage. This Act shall cover all public and private basic (K to 12)
institutions, higher education institutions, and technical-vocational institutions
(IVIs) fr Provided, That thi
. ey yearh
SECTION 2. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,