Cultural quandary

So my Son faltou (missed) uma visita de estudo (a study visit).  It's not his fault, of course. It's the fault of his friend who didn't phone him to pass on the message from the teacher to say where the class were meeting. And why did the friend have to phone him up with this information? Because he, Son, missed that class when the teacher gave out this information, whereas his friend didn't.

But it's alright, you see. This isn't the first visita de estudo he's missed, so he's now at the limit of faltas (negative mark for missing a class). This last falta means he will fail the year. In that case the teacher agrees that it's not really his fault and says that I should sign a piece of paper saying that he missed the study visit "for personal reasons". That way everything will be alright.

But I don't want to sign a piece of paper saying he missed the study visit for personal reasons. Because he didn't. And if it wasn't his fault, then why is he getting a falta? If it was so crucial that he didn't miss any more study visits, you would think he would at least have made an effort to find out where the meeting place was. And, btw, why is he at the limit of his faltas?

But that's me being Northern and British about it. I'm the same with my third year business students. Those students who never come to class because of one reason or another, and no they don't know what was on the programa, but I have to understand that  this is the only disciplina they have em atraso, which makes it crucial that I pass them. Why do I have to make it so difficult for them?

And back to S. Why don't I just accept that it was all someone else's fault and sign the piece of paper and get him out of it? Now he's going to fail the year and it will be all MY fault.