iPeople, inc. (PSE:IPO) drives the investments of House of Investments, Inc. and the Yuchengco Group of Companies in the education sector. As a publicly-listed company, IPO's operating schools are the following:
Mapúa University, founded in 1925 by Don Tomas Mapúa, a pioneering Filipino architect and Cornell University graduate, is the premier engineering and technological institution in the Philippines. The university maintains a tradition of excellence across diverse fields, including Engineering and Sciences, Architecture and Design, Information Technology, Business and Management, Communication and Media Studies, Health Sciences, Social Sciences, and Education. This commitment to comprehensive, world-class education empowers its graduates to become globally competitive professionals. On January 2025, Mapúa University celebrated a century of worldclass education, marking its 100th anniversary.
Mapúa University's pursuit of academic rigor has led to both national and international recognition. It started with getting accreditation in 2010 from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), a leading US-based, non-profit, non-governmental agency that accredits academic programs for engineering, computing, and applied and natural science. Mapua was the first university in the Philippines to gain ABET accreditation. Presently, the university has the most ABET-accredited programs in a single campus in the Philippines. Mapua then went on to gain recognition from the Times Higher Education (THE). In the 2024 THE Word University Ranking, it ranked 1501+. It also achieved qualifications from the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asia University Rankings 2024, placing it within the top 550 Asian universities and the top 100 Southeast Asian universities. Additionally, the QS Stars Rating System has awarded Mapúa a 4-star rating, with the highest marks in Employability, Social Responsibility, and Inclusiveness (5-star ratings). In addition, the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED) recognizes Mapua for its multiple engineering disciplines and its computing or information technology area as a Center of Excellence.
To broaden the horizons of its students, Mapúa has forged a groundbreaking partnership with Arizona State University (ASU), renowned as America's most innovative university. This collaboration, launched in 2022, enhances Mapúa's business, health sciences, nursing, and medicine offerings, providing Filipino students access to ASU's expertise and resources.
Located in Cabuyao, Laguna, alongside several science and industrial parks, Mapúa Malayan Colleges Laguna (Mapúa MCL) was established to extend the brand of Mapúa University to the South by offering programs in engineering and architecture, aviation, allied health sciences, accountancy, business, communication, computer science, information technology, maritime education, multimedia arts, and tourism management. It offers 31 baccalaureate programs and one master’s program under eight (8) degree-offering colleges and one institute: the Mapúa Institute of Technology at Laguna, the E.T. Yuchengco College of Business, the College of Computer and Information Science, the College of Arts and Science, Mapúa-PTC College of Maritime Education, College of Health Sciences, Institute for Excellence in Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning, and the newest colleges, the Mapúa Laguna Institute of Aviation and the College of Nursing. Mapúa MCL has retained its Autonomous Status, as per CHED Memorandum Order No. 07, Series of 2024 until September 2027. With its autonomous status, Mapúa MCL has introduced new programs, BS Aeronautical Engineering and BS Nursing, starting Academic Year 2024-2025. The institution’s community started with 860 students in 2007. Today, there are more than 7,700 students in college and Senior High School.
As part of its pledge to provide quality education to its students, seven Mapúa MCL engineering programs—Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering—are PTC-ACBET accredited. Mapúa MCL is envisioned as a Center of Excellence for science and technology education in Southern Luzon and has successfully produced graduates and students with consistently excellent performance in licensure and certification exams. In 2016, FindUniversity.ph ranked it as the number one private school in CALABARZON and the 10th best school in the Philippines. In 2021, Mapúa MCL was awarded as the Outstanding School of the Year in the Laguna Excellence Awards. Mapúa MCL was also granted membership in the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities in September 2022.
Incorporated in 2015, Malayan Colleges Mindanao (A Mapua School), Inc., operating under the name Mapúa Malayan Colleges Mindanao (MMCM), was established to offer Mapua education in Davao and Mindanao. MMCM looms along General Douglas MacArthur Highway in Matina, Davao City, and opened its doors to senior high school and college students on July 2, 2018. Mapua MCM welcomed 1,280 college freshmen and grade 11 students in its first year of school operations. Today, Mapua MCM has more than 7,200 students for SY2024-2025
It started with initial fourteen (14) baccalaureate programs in engineering, architecture, arts and sciences, information science, and business, and complete senior high school academic and technical-vocational tracks. For the SY 2019-2020, Mapua MCM intensified its global initiatives with new partners and opened three additional programs under Alfonso T. Yuchengco College of Business, namely, B.S. Accountancy, B.S. Management Accounting and B.S. Tourism Management. In 2021, the school was permitted to offer its first two health sciences programs, a BS in Psychology and a BS in Biology. Additionally, in the school year 2021-2022, the Department of Education (DepEd) in Region XI approved the offering of Junior High School, completing the High School program offerings from Grade 7 to Grade 12.
In April of 2023, Mapua MCM saw its first batch of Engineering board passers — garnering a 100% passing rate for Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Technician, Industrial Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Chemical Technicians board, as well as a 91.67% passing rate for the Mechanical Engineering Licensure Examination. That year, also marked the first topnotchers from the Industrial Engineering Certification Examination and the Mechanical Engineers Licensure Examination.
Throughout 2024, Mapua MCM attained international rankings and recognition from the World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI), the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, and the UI Green Metric World University Rankings. The efforts of Mapua MCM to earn global recognition enforce commitment to its vision to be among the world's leading educational institutions. Also in 2024, Mapua MCM was recertified of its ISO 21001:2018 EOMS Standard certification.
Malayan High School of Science (MHSS) is a science- and math-oriented high school located in Pandacan, Manila. Modeled after similar but publicly funded science high schools, MHSS offers a rigorous academic program geared towards graduating hard-working, mathematical and scientific-trained students that will excel in their university studies and beyond. MHSS is envisioned to be a global Center of Excellence in secondary education with a special focus on science and technology, thus giving the same quality education that its parent school, Mapúa University, is known for. Currently, the school is focused on optimizing student-to-teacher time and has a student population of 136.
The National Teachers College (NTC), incorporated on September 29, 1928, was the Philippines' first Higher Education Institution (HEI) to offer collegiate programs dedicated to teacher education. NTC opened its doors to the student public on June 10, 1929, and it was granted government recognition on February 17, 1930. Among private educational institutions in the Philippines, NTC has achieved notable performance in the licensure examination for teachers (LET). In addition, it currently provides expert advice to public and private agencies in the continuous development of policies and practices in flexible higher education in general and in Philippine teacher education in particular.
With its vision of transforming Philippine society through accessible quality education, NTC has since opened additional programs relevant to emerging industries including Basic Education, graduate programs in teacher education, accountancy, business administration, office administration, hospitality management, tourism management, information technology, library and information science, and psychology. In SY 2024, the first cohort of BS Criminology students was admitted to the School of Criminal Justice. NTC is also an authorized learning service provider of the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) of the Department of Education (DepEd) and a training partner of the Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC).
In September 2023, the merger of NTC and APEC Schools (APEC), with NTC as the surviving entity was made effective as approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This resulted to the creation of an education powerhouse with more than 29,000 students in K-12, College and Graduate School. Established in 2013, APEC has since scaled up to become the largest chain of private stand-alone high schools in the country. APEC offers innovative learning at very accessible prices across nine (9) campuses in the NCR, Rizal, Cavite and Batangas. One of the first offerings because of this merger is Smartclass, a homeschooling program that allows homeschoolers to benefit from engaging, practical and affordable education utilizing a more comprehensive approach to homeschooling.
Located in Naga City, Camarines Sur, the University of Nueva Caceres (UNC) is the first university in Southern Luzon. In February 1948, Dr. Hernandez together with other prominent Bicolanos, formed the Nueva Caceres College. Five years after its establishment, the school attained a University Status.
In July 2015, the University of Nueva Caceres partnered with Ayala Corporation through Ayala Education, Inc (AEI) to further enhance the quality of education through industry and technology-driven innovations. In 2019, with the merger of AC Education, Inc. and iPeople,inc., UNC became part of the iPeople Schools.
Currently, the University offers complete basic education, six (6) programs in the School of Arts and Sciences, eleven (11) in the School of Business and Administration, six (6) in the School of Computer Studies, seventeen (17) in the School of Teacher Education, seven (7) in the College of Engineering, one (1) program in the School of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, two (2) program in the Criminal Justice Education, one (1) program in the School of Law. As of 2025, a total of 44 programs are accredited by the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA).
With a student population of more than 9,600 beginning SY2024, UNC continues to be a leading school in Bicol which offers a nurturing education and serves as a key factor of progress in Naga and the Bicol region. At UNC everyone makes it and is ready for every tomorrow.