The Mabini Academy 5.37

TMA's Brief History

The Mabini Academy of Lipa City, was founded as a non-stock, non-profit corporation on June 10, 1922 by Professor Randall A. Rowley, Dean Francisco Benitez, Mrs. Paz M. Benitez, Dr. Jose M. Katigbak, Mrs. Tarcila M. Katigbak, and Miss Emilia Malabanan. This school, which opened on June 12, started with an enrolment of more than one hundred students, two first year classes and one second year class. In June, 1923, a third year class was added, and in June, 1924, the complete high school course was given. On March 25, 1925, it received government recognition. It continued functioning as a secondary school, giving the complete general course (day) until December 9, 1941, when all schools closed because of the Second World War. It remained closed during the Japanese occupation. It reopened in June, 1945 and has been functioning since then.

Before the war, this school occupied a large three-storey building which commodiously housed the students. It had a large library and complete laboratory equipment. That building was burned, the apparatus and library looted and burned during the war. By March, 1947, the library had been considerably replenished and the laboratories satisfactorily equipped. In that same year the school transferred to its present site.

This site has been enlarged by buying adjoining lots. Its present area is 25,610 square meters - one of the largest school sites among private schools in Batangas. The Academy has in this site seven buildings, a basketball court, and an open stage. In 1948 a Junior College with Liberal Arts and Normal Courses was added together with a complete elementary department. The College Department, however, was short-lived. It closed in 1961. While 1961 saw the end of the college department, 1963 marked the start of the improvement of the buildings. The administration building was the first to be demolished and replaced by a modern concrete edifice. In 1964, the two wings of this building, housing eight classrooms, were constructed. This was followed by the remodeling of the grandstand in 1965, by the construction of the first wing of a two-storey Science Building in 1966, by the construction of a 3-room Vocational Building in 1967, and by the erection of a semi-concrete fence along the southern boundary of the school. And in 1971, the two-storey Science Building was finally completed. Happily this improvement of the buildings was matched by a corresponding increase in enrolment until in 1982 an all time high of 3,100 students were registered in the high school department alone.

Prior to the establishment of this school, Lipa students went to Batangas or to Manila for their secondary education. This of course, proved very expensive for the parents. Its establishment, therefore, was a great financial help to them. For many years, it was the only secondary school in Lipa City and the neighboring towns, thus satisfying a great need of the community.

Despite the fact that now there are around 14 high schools in Lipa City alone, the population of the school continues to grow every year. This is perhaps due to the fact that it offers good education ( a reputation it gained when its very first valedictorian, Mrs. Lourdez Luz Samaniego, graduated Summa Cum Laude at the University of Sto. Tomas ) at a comparatively low cost. Thus it is able to help a great portion of the middle-income group of the city population. Through the training it gives, many poor but highly talented students were able to get scholarships in well-known colleges and universities. The most notable performance of The Mabini Academy graduates were those under a recently-approved law on state and local scholars where out of a possible eight (8) scholarships, six (6) have been won by them.