Anything under the Sun
Iloilo–always a center of education, 1
October is the month of Education. It is therefore, proper to know that Iloilo city and province, has been always a center of education since the ancient Malay baranganic days up to present.
During the ancient Malay days in Panay, Iloilo had already an informal school (but-ho-an) promoted by its first head, Datu Paiburong. These barangay schools held primitive classes usually on an open stage (papag). The subjects taught were mores and customs (ugali), legends (sugidanon), proverbs (horobaton), poetry (luha), riddles (pagtakon) folk songs (ambahanon), folk dances (sa-ut), and livelihood (pangitan- an) agriculture, and fishing. A syllabic alphabet was used and written with a pencil (sipol) on bamboo strips or fresh leaves or even on sand.
When the Spaniards came, a British visitor, Sir John Browning, British ambassador to Hongkong, wrote that among the provinces in the colony, Iloilo was the “most instructed.” This was because of the following;
1. As soon as parishes were created, the parish priest conducted informal classes teaching the four R’s (reading, writing, arithmetic and religion) with religion as the core subject.
2. Later, the Educational Decree of 1863 was passed providing for public elementary schools (escuela publica) in the towns (pueblos), which in Iloilo was complied with in almost every town.
3. The first school for boys in the country was the Jesuit boarding school in Tigbauan established in 1592. The second school for girls in the country was Colegio de las Niñas de San Jose (now Colegio de San Jose) in Jaro (1872). The third seminary in the country was the diocesan Seminario de San Vicente Ferrer in Jaro (1868). Molo, a town at that time had three private colleges aside from a public school. There was also a music school–Colegio de Tiples Niños teaching vocal and instrumental music.
When the Americans arrived, they established a public school system covering all towns. In Iloilo there were many firsts in education in the country such as: Baluarte Elementary School (first public elementary school), Iloilo High School (first public high school), Iloilo Trade School now Western Visayas College of Science and Technology (among the first provincial trade schools) and Iloilo Normal School now West Visayas State University (among the first provincial normal schools). Parallel to this was the putting up of the first provincial branch of the Philippine National Library in Iloilo on Oct. 29, 1916.
In 1941, the Iloilo High School was the biggest public secondary school in the country with a school population of 10,000, meriting a visit by President Manuel L. Quezon and Vice President Sergio Osmeña.
Among the private schools were Colegio de San Agustin now University of San Agustin (first Catholic University in Visayas), Jaro Industrial School now Central Philippine University ( first Protestant university in the Philippines), Iloilo Mission Hospital (first school of nursing in the Philippines), West Visayas Academy (first high school in Guimaras ), Assumption College, Colegio del Santo Angel (now Colegio de las Hijas de Jesus), Colegio del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, and Iloilo Institute.
Aside from the public schools in every town, there were many private schools, mostly Catholic parochial schools created by Mill Hill Missionaries. There is also the Iloilo Chinese Vocational School (now Iloilo Central Commercial High School), the first Chinese School in the Philippines. There was even the Japanese School (Iloilo Nihonjin Shogaku) but was discontinued after the war.
During the American regime, some Ilonggos made a mark in the educational system. Digno Alba of Capiz was reported to be a member (some say even first chairman) of the Insular Textbook Board. Sofia Reyes de Vera co-authored the textbook Character and Conduct, Josefa Jara Martinez also co-authored the textbook Correct English, and Assemblyman Eugenio Ealdana contributed to civic textbook an article Alameda which dwelt on an ideal community where the Ilonggo cardinal virtues were practiced.*
