Message from the University President

We are in the middle of the world’s biggest health crisis. As the days went forward, we learned that the coronavirus pandemic is not just a threat to our fragile health, but it has also significantly altered the way we live. The education sector was not spared from its adverse impacts as we now must urgently shift our classrooms online and maximize technology to continue providing quality education to our students. This, amid our challenged information and communications technology infrastructure and widespread digital inequalities. The pandemic has also heightened the problems posed by disinformation and misinformation, mental and physical fatigue, and threats to our democratic institutions. More than ever, we must remain vigilant as our country weathers these proverbial and literal storms.

I am still grateful amid the crisis we experience today, as hope springs eternal. As an educator and employee of this humble university, I strongly commend our brave and undaunting professors, faculty members, and employees as they continue to strive towards providing quality education to our Iskolar ng Bayan.

I am also thankful to our students and their parents or guardians for their strength and resilience. The time and hard work we spend learning online and working every day to meet the needs of our families are no easy feats. Our students belong to the poorer sectors of our society but your dedication to learning in an effort to contribute to nation-building is worthy of praise and admiration.

As the President of this University, I am honored to serve you in this time of need. I will strive harder to deliver the best programs and projects that would continue to improve the lives of the people in our community. I pray that one day, more young Filipinos would benefit from the free, fair, and nationalistic education offered by our Sintang Paaralan. Towards this fruitful end, we will work towards creating an environment where students from all walks of life would be able to study in whatever platform; not only because they are resilient, but because the government genuinely provides for their education needs. We will continue to be the University that humbly molds student-leaders with the heart for public service particularly for the poor and the marginalized, imbued with a deep sense of social justice and patriotism for our country. All these we will undertake not only because I am in the prime position to ensure that these much-needed reforms happen; but equally so, because our University deserves these developments.

I pray for everyone’s safety and strength in these trying times. Thank you, Iskolar ng Bayan, for your trust and cooperation. Sintang Paaralan will be with you in this arduous but fruitful journey. The skies will soon become clear, so let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess. Today, we will carry on and remain faithful to our duty as Iskolar ng Bayan!

MANUEL M. MUHI, D.Tech, ASEAN Engr.
University President
Polytechnic University of the Philippines