National Teachers College branching outside Metro Manila

MANILA, Philippines — The Yuchengco and Ayala Groups, through their listed education joint venture iPeople, is bringing National Teachers College (NTC) outside Metro Manila by next year to address rising student demand.

NTC, which iPeople acquired in 2019, is set to expand to Bulacan in 2025 as part of the company’s mission to bring quality education to more Filipinos.

iPeople said that NTC has grown substantially since its acquisition, in with a compounded annual growth of 12 percent.

For next year, NTC expects its student population to expand by 12 percent.

To address the increasing student demand, iPeople said that its board approved the expansion of NTC outside of Metro Manila to Bulacan.

“This expansion will allow us to advance the Philippine educational system by making quality education more affordable and accessible to a greater number of Filipinos,” iPeople chairman and CEO Reynaldo Vea said.

Founded in 1928, NTC is located in the University Belt, Manila. It is the first school in the country to offer general education leading to a Bachelor of Science in Education.

NTC is one of the educational institutions under iPeople, a listed holding company of House of Investments Inc., a member of the Yuchengco Group of Companies, and Ayala Corp.

For the school year 2024-2025, iPeople reported a 10 percent increase in enrolment with a total of 74,000 students, 54 percent of whom come from the affordable education segment.

“iPeople is highly supportive of the Philippine government’s thrust to improve education of the Filipinos. We will continue to serve the affordable segment by leveraging our background and expertise in providing quality outcome-based education in our Mapúa Schools,” Vea said.

Vea said that Mapúa University, for instance, has started offering fully online bachelor programs, called Ubiquitous Online Experience to cater to a wider range of demographic who aspire to get the Mapúa brand of education wherever they are at a lower cost than that of on-site delivery.

“With our commitment and passion for excellence, we at iPeople will continue to create meaningful impact in the academe and in society,” he said.