Mapua is finished! The Glorious School is no more but a mere shadow of its reputation

[testament11]

I feel very sorry sa Mapua, which is my alma mater, naging pera pera nalang ngayon ang school. Gone are the glory days of Mapua, under Don Tomas Mapua and his family. Now that Yuchengco bought the school, ito na ang nangyayari. Kawawa naman ang mga kapos-palad...

I’m writing this post(letter) to seek your assistance on such dire situation. I’m a student of Mapua Institute of Technology School of Information Technology in Buendia Makati in the Philippines. I have but only one subject ( CS393 – Modelling and Simulation Theory ) and my On-Job Training left in my curriculum. Once I get those two items done I can finally get my diploma from my school and be done with my studies for college.

Apparently that’s not what happened. Last March 26,2012 I tried to enroll the remaining subject and the school told me that all my credits throughout my stay in Mapua are dissolved/discredited and I have to start from scratch. That means whatever I did way back in my freshman year in mapua till the present time was wasted. I asked them why would my years of painstaking work would go down the drain they told me it was about their new resolution. The resolution is as follows:

—–

Mapua Institute of Technology
The Academic Council

Resolution No. 06
Series of 2012
(Addendum to Resolution No. 23.1, Series of 2011: On Maximum Residency Requirement)

The academic council resolved that the curriculum of a program will be in effect up to a period equivalent to two times of its normal length reckoned from the time it is first offered.

For example, the curriculum of a four-year program is eight years. beyond this period, except for some courses in languages, humanities and social sciences, all courses will be considered obselete; hence crediting of such courses will no longer apply, students returning after this period will have to repeat the whole program using the latest curriculum

—

The item above states that if I enroll this term, all my credits all except for certain “languages, humanities and social sciences” will be discredited and would be of no use. I’m suppose to graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree of Computer Science in Mapua and then they told me I need to repeat the whole thing again. I started in Mapua when I was around 18 years of age (I’m batch 2003) and I am now 25 years old. My family is not rich but I took upon myself to make my parents at the least be proud that one of their children ( and the second of three sons of my father and mother ) strived hard and graduated in a school that they have dreamt one of their child to graduate. We had financial issues here and there and I worked and took the subjects one at a time in order for me to finish my course.

With the latest incident, all the money, all the time that me and my family invested throughout the years are now for naught. I asked them directly, what about those items… The money and time me and my family spent what are they of worth now? They never gave me a reply but rather told me that Mapua is autonomous enough to implement rules without CHED’s knowledge hence and such this incident and rule. I wrote a letter to Dr. Bonifacio T. Doma , Jr. who happens to be the EVP for Academic Affairs for Mapua, addressing this issue and pleading to allow me to complete my course so that I can graduate and everything be done with. The letter apparently and seemed not to have reached the addressed individual but rather my letter just got passed from his secretary to the mapua main branch (intramuros registrar) to mapua makati’s registrar and back to the secretary. I asked them, has Dr. Bonifacio T. Doma, Jr. read my letter. They would not give me a straight answer but rather point out that I can’t do my request. They also told me I should have tried to finish my course a long time ago. I did tried! but again my family is financially unstable and I can only take a few subjects at a time. Last January of 2012 which was the 3rd Quarterm (mapua uses a quarterm system which begins in June and ends in last parts of may and early part of june) I tried to take the subject but they never allowed me to since the subjet is not available. A few months back I tried to enroll it and it is also not available. I asked to have it cross-enrolled to a different school but they refuse or would not allow me. Their reason as what they claim is “Hinde pwede” that’s it nothing more nothing less.

So what does all of it mean. It just means that everything I worked hard through those years. Completing each and every course, accomplishing my thesis paper to get my diploma and graduate college is nothing to them. I’m reaching out to the mass media right now to share this to everyone you know and even to newspaper publishers etc. Inform them as to how Mapua, a once esteemed school became corrupt and hungry for money that they are willing to become the antagonist and step on anyone who stands in their way in reaching and gaining more money.

I’m not the only one who experienced this dillema and apparently more will follow and other have actually took the blow before I did. I don’t know what will they face or do if the situation came unto them. For me, I don’t know still.. I am still shocked about the incident that all enthusiasm has gone out the window and its as if even ending ones life is not enough to accept such reality that what you worked so hard can be thrown out the window by someone who thinks that they can do so anytime they wish to.

To anyone who wishes to enroll their child in Mapua. I suggest you not go through with it anymore. There are better school who would not throw your efforts or put them in vain. You got De La Salle, Ateneo, UP, UST (Univ. of Sto. Tomas) etc. These schools are way better than this money making school that was once known for its great education provided to the people.

If you wish to contact me about the incident and inquire more feel free to do so:
Email: energeist1*gmail.com
Mobile (Philippines) : 0947-883-0135

Source: [ SPECIAL NOTE ] Mapua is finished! – The Glorious School is no more that but a mere shadow of its reputation – « NendoGamer

[KERSMcRae]

Di ba papalitan na rin ang pangalan- from Mapua to Malayan?

dyan dapat ako mag-aaral noon,.Pag sinabi mo Mapua sa amin parang may sumigaw ng "Captain on deck!"..
kaso hindi ako umabot sa exam. Sa isang University sa Baguio bagsak ko- hehe

[xninjax]

whoa!.. CHED is one inutil agency..

I'm interested on what the courts would say if this is brought up to them

[CVT]

Labo naman iyan... Mas malabo pa sa kanilang Quarterm...
15.3K:jazzybass:

[testament11]

Di ba papalitan na rin ang pangalan- from Mapua to Malayan?

dyan dapat ako mag-aaral noon,.Pag sinabi mo Mapua sa amin parang may sumigaw ng "Captain on deck!"..
kaso hindi ako umabot sa exam. Sa isang University sa Baguio bagsak ko- hehe

No, hindi siya napalitan dahil sa ginawa naming Black Valentines way back 2005. However, nakalagay sa diploma namin, MIT is under Malayan Colleges ek ek. So more of compliment nalang ang Mapua na pangalan.

[testament11]

whoa!.. CHED is one inutil agency..

Have you considered seeking legal opinion on this matter?

People who replied sa kanyan blog adviced the author to seek for legal advice, kahit sa mga public attorneys man lang. Also, mukhang di kaya ng CHED ito since Mapua has the lecheng autonomous status. Nung malaman namin noon na may autonomous status ang Mapua, isa ito sa mga di namin nagustuhan before dahil parang gagamitin nila ang status na iyon sa kanilang pansariling kapakanan lang. Well, eto na siguro ang isa sa mga pang-aabuso sa status na yan.

[yapoy86]

dati sa mapua.. pag pasok ng freshmen ang dami mga 3,000 sila.. tapos pagdating ng 2nd sem mga 1,500 na lang matitira hanggang mag graduate.. mga 100 students na lang per course or less pa ang maiiwan..

ang Mapua noon ay school para sa mga matatalino pero mahirap lang na gusto ng quality education.. kaya nga ang mga major subjects dyan noon eh madalas sa gabi mga 6pm onwards kasi yung mga estudyante working students plus yung mga instructor eh may work din...

[greatauror28]

Bakit naman ganun? They could just do that to students? Unfair naman ata.
I would love to hear this brought out to TV news, and I am dying to hear Mapua's comment on this.

[Monseratto]

So may 8 year time limit to finish a regular 4 year course. The TS did mention he was batch 2003 or almost ten years ago. I doubt some of the main subjects he took 9 years ago would be of significance now especially computers science.

[niky]

The problem is it's a new curriculum. If the subjects are not an exact match between the new and the old curriculum, the school may not credit them.

If the school refuses to give equivalency credit for those subjects, there's really nothing he can do under law. He just stayed out way too long.

It's like going to the LTO and asking if you can complete your old application for the previous non-computerized driver's license. You can't. You've got to start over from scratch.

There's nothing anyone can do about it. His choice is to take all his credentials from the old course and apply at another school. The problem is, courses from autonomous schools don't often match standard CHED curricula. This is a problem that those of us coming from UP and going to other schools already face. I know people who've left UP and have had to restart their courses from scratch because schools under the CHED have different course descriptions and syllabi.

Biggest problem: Even if the curriculum is under the CHED, courses naturally change over time as requirements get added and dropped. Stay out too long and you'll have to repeat a few years of study, because your old courses are obsolete.

Does it suck? Yes it does. Should Mapua accomodate him so he can graduate? It would be the humane thing to do. But can they? Doubtful. If the curriculum is different already, then they can't officially offer the courses he needs and they can't graduate him, because he doesn't meet the requirements of the course as stipulated in their curriculum. That would play merry hell with the Registrar's records... He/She would probably not allow it at all. The school would be very hard-pressed to give out a diploma in a course it doesn't offer at all, anymore.

Because that's basically what happened. Sad for him.