Dear PAO,

My children were previously enrolled in a private school, but due to the financial impact of the recent pandemic and the continued decline of our business, we were forced to transfer them to a public school. We even had to write a promissory note to the private school because we couldn’t settle the remaining tuition fees. When we requested for the issuance of our children’s report cards to complete their transfer, I was surprised to be informed that the school would withhold these documents until the outstanding fees were fully paid. Does the school have the power to withhold my children’s transfer credentials?

Rich

Dear Rich,

We regret to inform you that the private school may withhold your children’s credentials until settlement of their unpaid tuition fees. The authority of schools to withhold their students’ credentials due to non-payment of financial obligations is expressly recognized in Sections 127 and 128 of Department of Education (DepEd) Order 88, Series of 2010, or the 2010 Revised Manual of Regulations for Private Schools in Basic Education:

“Section 127. Transfer of Students and Transfer Credentials. A pupil or student enrolled in one school is entitled to transfer to another school, provided he has no unsettled obligations with the school he was enrolled in. xxx

“Section 128. Withholding of Credentials. The release of the transfer credentials of any pupil or student may be withheld for reasons of suspension, expulsion or nonpayment of financial obligations or property responsibility of the pupil or student to the school. The credentials shall be released as soon as his obligation shall have been settled or the penalty of suspension or expulsion lifted. xxx”

Thus, it is clear from the above that private schools may lawfully withhold their students’ transfer credentials for the reason of nonpayment of financial obligations to the school. However, this does not mean that you will not be able to transfer your children in a public school. DepEd Order 03, Series of 2018 or the Basic Education Enrollment Policy, provides that:

“C. Temporary Enrollment

“Transferees from public and private schools in the Philippines who failed to submit the SF 9 (formerly Form 138) during early registration or upon enrollment shall only be temporarily enrolled until the submission of required documents on or before August 31st of the current school year. They shall be required to submit an Affidavit of Undertaking, provided as Annex 3, signed by the parent/guardian in order to be temporarily enrolled.

“xxx

“Upon complete submission of the documentary requirements, the learner shall be tagged as officially enrolled in the LIS [Learner Information System]. Otherwise, the learner retains the status of temporarily enrolled; the learner cannot be officially promoted to a higher level, and the learner cannot officially graduate from the school. The learner will not be recognized should he/she attain the qualifying average and other criteria for academic honors, and the receiving school shall not release official documents such as SF 9, SF 10, Certificate of Completion, Diploma, etc.”

From the above, it is clear that you can still temporarily enroll your children in a public school without their transfer credentials subject to the submission of an Affidavit of Undertaking. Your children’s temporary enrollment will become an official enrollment upon your settlement of your obligation to the private catholic school and the submission of their transfer records to the public school.

This opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Thus, the opinion may vary when the facts are changed or further elaborated. We hope that we were able to enlighten you on the matter.

Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to [email protected]