DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY

Cabambangan, Villa de Bacolor 2001, Pampanga, Philippines COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Tel. No. (6345) 458 0021; Fax (6345) 458 0021 Local 211 ISO 9001: 2015 AND PHILOSOPHY
DHVSU Main Campus, Villa de Bacolor, Pampanga
URL: http://dhvsu.edu.ph
QMS-Certified

CHAPTER 3: RIZAL'S HIGHER EDUCATION.

Scholastic Triumphs at Ateneo de Manila, JUNE 1872-1877
On June 10,1872, Jose accompanied by Paciano, went to Manila. He took the
entrance examinations at the College of San Juan de Letran and passed the
entrance exam with flying colors. His father changed his mind and decided to send
him to Ateneo Municipal.
Jose was accompanied by Paciano at the Ateneo Municipal. At first, Father Magin
Ferrando, who was the college registrar, refused to admit him for two reasons: 1).
He was late for registration and 2). He was sickly and undersized for his age. Upon
the intercession of Manue l Xerez Burgos, nephew of Father Burgos, he was
admitted at the Ateneo.
The system of education given by the Jesuits priests in the Ateneo was more
advanced than that of other colleges in that time. It trained the character of the
student by rigid discipline and religious instruction.
Fr. Jose Bech was the first professor of Rizal in Ateneo.
Jose used the surname "Rizal" for the first time.
Jose was called an "externo" at a living out student during his days in Ateneo
Municipal.
Jesuits system of education encouraged competition among the student.
Rizal was placed at the bottom of the class and assigned with the Carthaginias.

The class was divided in two group:

A. Carthaginian (non-border of Ateneo)
B. Roman (border inside Ateneo)
Rizal took a private lessons in Sta. Isabel College during break time to improve his
knowledge of Spanish.
After a month Rizal become an emperor and he was considered as the brightest
student of the class.
In his second year and third year in Ateneo, nothing usual happened to Rizal.
In his fourth year in Ateneo, Rizal was inspired to study hard and to write a poetry
by one of his best professions, Father Francisco de Paula Sanchez a great educator
and scholar.
He expressed his ideas on the value of education in his poems:
 DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cabambangan, Villa de Bacolor 2001, Pampanga, Philippines COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Tel. No. (6345) 458 0021; Fax (6345) 458 0021 Local 211 ISO 9001: 2015 AND PHILOSOPHY
DHVSU Main Campus, Villa de Bacolor, Pampanga
URL: http://dhvsu.edu.ph
QMS-Certified

• Mi Primera Inspiracion (My First Inspiration)

•In memory of my Town
•A Farewell Dialogue of the Students
•Intimate Alliance Between Religion and Good Education

On Commencement Day, March 23,1877, Rizal, who was 16 years old, received
from his Alma Mater, Ateneo Municipal, the degree of Bachelor of Arts, with
highest honors.

MEDICAL STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS (1877-1882)

Rizal was still unsure of what course to take, so he tried to seek guidance from Fr.
Pablo Ramon, Rector of the Ateneo who was then in Mindanao so he was not able
to advise Rizal. For his first term , Rizal took the course on Philosophy and Letters.
During his first school term in the University of Santo Tomas Rizal also studied in
Ateneo. He took the vocational course leading to the title of perito agrimensor (
expert surveyor).

In the following term he decided to shift to medicine for the following reasons:
a.to cure his mother's failing eyesight
b. Fr. Ramon wrote back advising Jose Rizal to take up medicine.
Unhappy days of Rizal in UST- He was unhappy at this Dominican institution of
higher learning because of:
a). the Dominican professors were hostile to him.
b). the Filipino students were racially discriminated against by the Spaniards.
c). the method of instruction was obsolete and repressive.

Literary works of Rizal in UST

•To the Filipino Youth
•The Council of the Gods

After finishing the fourth year of his medical course, Rizal decided to study in Spain.
He could no longer endure the rampant bigotry, discrimination and hostility in UST.
DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cabambangan, Villa de Bacolor 2001, Pampanga, Philippines COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Tel. No. (6345) 458 0021; Fax (6345) 458 0021 Local 211 ISO 9001: 2015 AND PHILOSOPHY
DHVSU Main Campus, Villa de Bacolor, Pampanga
URL: http://dhvsu.edu.ph
QMS-Certified