An education powerhouse is in the making with the planned merger of the National Teachers College (NTC) and Affordable Private Education Center Schools (APEC), two schools owned by iPeople Inc. of the Ayala and Yuchengco families.
iPeople in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange said majority of the board of directors and stockholders representing at least two thirds of the outstanding capital stock of NTC and APEC approved the planned union of the two schools, with NTC as the surviving entity.
The merger, however, is still subject to the filing of the relevant applications and obtaining the requisite regulatory approvals, including the endorsement of the Commission on Higher Education and Department of Education, and the green light from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
If approved, the merger will result in the creation of an education powerhouse with over 24,000 students in K-12, college and graduate school.
“The planned merger will allow us to better achieve our goal of transforming lives through innovative education at affordable prices,” NTC and APEC chairman Fred Ayala said.
Ayala said high school students would benefit from the combination of NTC’s national reputation and 94 year track record of excellence in teaching, with APEC’s progressive teaching methods and focus on being educators of the digital future.
NTC was founded in 1928 and was the Philippines’ first higher education institution to offer collegiate programs dedicated to teacher education.
It has expanded its collegiate programs to include accountancy, business, hospitality and tourism management, IT, library science, and psychology.
APEC Schools, on the other hand, was established in 2013 with the vision of providing quality private education affordable for Filipino high school students.
It has since scaled up to become the largest chain of private stand-alone high schools in the country.
NTC executive vice president Pam Wu said they would greatly benefit from APEC’s modern approach, including its specialization in highly engaging blended learning.
