Brief History
In the early 20's, Batangas had only one public high school. This was located in the Provincial Capital, consequently very few could afford to obtain high school education. This situation spurred some prominent citizens of Tanauan to establish a private high school to meet the needs of the graduates from the elementary schools of Tanauan and neighboring towns. A corporation was formed and Dr. Jose P. Laurel was elected President of the Board of Trustees with Dr. Gaudencio Garcia, Dr. Francisco Onate, Dr. Juan V. Pagaspas, and Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue Alfredo L. Yatco as members. Dr. Pagaspas was appointed Director of the school. The new school, which was named Tanauan Institute, offered the first year and second year of secondary education on June 02, 1924. Subsequently, the Institute received full recognition to offer a complete high school course. It held its first commencement exercises on April 09, 1927.
World War II broke and the school was temporarily closed. By 1945, the American liberation forces arrived in Batangas Bay. The Japanese retreated by massacred civilian caught in their path. Dr. and Mrs. Pagaspas were among the unfortunate victims of the February 10 massacre. After liberation, the corporation was organized with Mr. Vicente Sabalvaro as the President of the Board of Trustees and Mr. Apolonio Magsino, Dr. Salvador C. Laurena, Dr. Apolonio Lirio and Dr. Jose Panganiban as members. Amnesty was granted to Dr. Laurel and once more he assumed the Presidency of the Board of Trustees. Upon his suggestion, the site was bought and a concrete structure was erected. Beginning with the school year 1951-1952, classes had been held in this building. Mr. Apolonio Magsino was elected President of the Board of Trustees in January 1960 after the death of Dr Laurel on November 06, 1959.
Motivated by the same objectives, which prompted the founders of Tanauan Institute, the 1967 Board of Trustees made a forward step when it established the Collegiate Department beginning year 1967-1968. The Institute offered the following courses: Bachelor of Science in Commerce and Diploma in Secretarial Science. It was hoped that with the establishment of the Collegiate Department, the Tanauan Institute would be instrumental in providing equal education opportunity for all.
In 1988, upon the assumption of Mr. Andy I. Macasaet as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, the school expanded its program by offering Nursery, Kindergarten, Grades I-IV, under the Pre-Elementary and Elementary Departments. Technical Vocational courses such as Automotive and electronics were offered. Short term Computer courses like Basic Computer System, Word Processing, Basic Programming, Lotus 1-2-3, Dbase III, and Pascal were also opened.
In 1990, the Elementary Department has completed its course offerings with the addition of Grade VI while Bachelor of Elementary Education and Graduate in Midwifery has been added to College programs. Further expansion of the physical facilities was also made during the year, through the construction of the fourth floor as additional storey to the main building.
The most significant expansion was achieved in 1991 when the school was granted by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports the Authority to offer Master of Arts with English and Filipino as areas of specialization.
In 2003, under the leadership of Dr. Nelson P. Collantes, Tanauan Institute relocated to a much larger campus with five fully equipped school buildings, a gymnasium and a swimming pool facility. The progress of Tanauan Institute is marked by this historical move into the modern era, while keeping the traditional goals and enduring spirit of Tanauan Institute alive.
