Philippine Normal University

The Philippine Normal University (PNU; Filipino: Pamantasang Normal ng Pilipinas) is a public coeducational teacher education and research university in the Philippines. It was established in 1901 through Act No. 74 of the Philippine Commission "for the education of natives of the Islands in the science of teaching". It has campuses in Manila, North Luzon, South Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Pursuant to Republic Act No. 9647, it is the country's National Center for Teacher Education.
In addition to the powers and functions provided for in its charter, the university is mandated to conduct researches, build and develop a database of education policies, and provide technical support to the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education, as well as assistance to the Congress of the Philippines, in the design and analysis of programs, projects, and legislative proposals concerning teacher training, teacher education, continuing professional education of teachers and academic supervisors, teacher education curricula, and other issues affecting teacher education.
The Philippine Normal University was originally established as the Philippine Normal School (PNS), an institution for the training of teachers, by virtue of Act No. 74 of the Philippine Commission enacted on January 21, 1901. It opened on September 1, 1901, on the site of a former Spanish normal school in the Escuela Municipal in Intramuros.
Provincial normal schools were also established in different parts of the country as branches of the PNS such as the Cebu Normal School (1902), Iloilo Normal School (1902; present-day West Visayas State University and Iloilo National High School), Zamboanga Normal School (1904), and an experimental vacation school in Laoag, Ilocos Norte (1917) that became the North Luzon State College in 1976 (which was merged with the Mariano Marcos Memorial College of Science and Technology to form the Mariano Marcos State University in 1978).
For more than two decades, PNS offered a two-year general secondary education program. In 1928 it became a junior college offering a two-year program to graduates of secondary schools.
In 1944, during World War II, the PNS building (now Geronima T. Pecson Hall) housed the National Library of the Philippines after the Legislative Building (now the National Museum of Fine Arts) was occupied by Japanese soldiers. However, after two weeks, the PNS building was also occupied and some of the collections were moved to the Manila City Hall. The war-damaged school buildings were reconstructed under the Philippine Rehabilitation Act of 1946.
When PNS was converted into the Philippine Normal College (PNC) in 1949 through Republic Act No. 416 (also known as the PNC Charter), the four-year Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education (BSEE) program was introduced. Subsequently, other undergraduate programs started, such as the Bachelor of Science in education (BSE) with specialization in Elementary Education; a BSEE major in Home Economics; and a three-year Combined Home Economics diploma.
In 1953, the Graduate School was established. PNC included the Master of Arts (MA) in Education curriculum in the academic program. The organization of a full-fledged Graduate School came five years later.
PNC established branches in Negros Occidental, Agusan del Sur, and Isabela by virtue of Republic Act No. 4242 of 1965. The law also called for the establishment of branches in the Jolo-Tawi-Tawi area and Marinduque but it was not realized.
In 1970 the Bachelor of Science in Education curriculum, offering major and minor subjects, was introduced. The passage of Republic Act No. 6515 in July 1972, which amended Republic Act No. 416, paved the way for the offering of the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees and the provision of other academic programs relevant to the in-service training of teachers, school supervisors, administrators, researchers, and other education specialists and personnel.
Aside from the creation of campuses, the college expanded its services, most significant of which was its designation as the Curriculum Development Center for Communication Arts (English and Filipino) under the Language Study Center-Educational Development Projects Implementing Task Force (LSC-EDPITAF) Project and afterward as Center of Excellence (CENTREX) in English, Filipino and Values Education. Its major functions included the development of English and Filipino textbooks and teacher manuals for use in public elementary and secondary schools nationwide, and the conduct of national level trainers-training programs for the Bureau of Secondary Education, Department of Education, Culture and Sports, and the Fund for Assistance to Private Education.
The school was elevated to university status on December 26, 1991, by Republic Act No. 7168.
A fourth campus was constructed in Quezon province in 1993. The university was designated as Center of Excellence in Teacher Education (COE) for the National Capital Region and Center of Excellence in Filipino at the national level.
On September 1, 2001, the university celebrated its centennial founding anniversary.
In 2008, it was declared as the country's National Center for Teacher Education by virtue of Republic Act No. 9647.
In 2011, PNU convened a group of state universities that were founded as normal schools during the American period – Bicol University, Bukidnon State University, Cebu Normal University, Leyte Normal University, Mariano Marcos State University, Palawan State University, Pangasinan State University, West Visayas State University, and Western Mindanao State University – to establish the National Network of Normal Schools (3NS). The group aims to promote collaboration and cooperation in research, professional development, extension, and a local student Erasmus Mundus program.
In 2014, PNU, together with other teacher education institutions in Southeast Asia, established the Association of Southeast Asian Teacher Education Network (AsTEN) which became an entity associated with ASEAN on March 29, 2021. The current members of the organization include Seri Begawan Religious Teachers University College, the National Institute of Education (Cambodia), Indonesia University of Education, National University of Laos, Sultan Idris Education University, Yangon University of Education, the National Institute of Education of the Nanyang Technological University, Kasetsart University, and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam).
The university has five campuses. The flagship and oldest campus is in Manila while the four non-autonomous branches are in different parts of the country.
Republic Act No. 4242, approved on June 19, 1965, established the North Luzon (Isabela), Visayas (Cadiz), and Mindanao (Agusan) branches. The South Luzon (Lopez) branch started through a consortium with the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in 1980.
In 2012, the regional branches were designated as university hubs for specific advocacies in response to regional demands and were later renamed in 2014.
As of May 2018, three campuses are recognized by the Commission on Higher Education as Centers of Excellence in Teacher Education.
PNS first occupied the building of the Escuela Municipal in Intramuros then moved to the old Exposition Grounds in Ermita, now occupied by the Philippine General Hospital, after a year. In 1912, it transferred to its present location at the corner of Taft Avenue and Ayala Boulevard.
The campus occupies a 3.7-hectare lot in Ermita, the civic center of Manila. Within its vicinity are the Manila City Hall, SM City Manila, the main campus of the Technological University of the Philippines, Rizal Park, the National Museum of Anthropology, and the National Museum of Fine Arts.
Its two oldest buildings, the Geronima T. Pecson Hall (now the main building) and Normal Hall, were designed by American architect William E. Parsons using the California Mission style. The construction was then budgeted at ₱374,000. The main building was built in 1912 and was originally called the Philippine Normal School Building. The Normal Hall, meanwhile, was constructed in 1914 and served as a student dormitory. In addition, the university's Faculty Center was the former Training Department Building, reconstructed in 1950 and used as a training center for teachers.
These 3 buildings were declared National Cultural Treasures by the National Museum of the Philippines in 2018.
PNU North Luzon (formerly known as PNU Alicia or PNU Isabela) is the third regional branch of the university established by Republic Act No. 4242, principally authored by then-Isabela Lone District Representative Delfin Albano.
The branch was housed at the Home Economics Building of Alicia Central School when it opened on July 26, 1971. After a year, it moved to its present 5-hectare site in Brgy. Aurora donated by Rev. Cornelio Tomas of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines and by the Abuan family.
The campus started through a consortium program in Teacher Education with a then-emerging campus of PUP (now the Lopez branch of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines). When the consortium agreement expired in 1993, a memorandum of agreement was signed by PNC, the provincial government of Quezon, the municipal government of Lopez, and the then Department of Education, Culture and Sports (now the Department of Education), to continue the operation of the PNU Teacher Education Program.
The branch stayed in the compound of the Lopez National Comprehensive High School from 1993 to 1999 before moving to its present site donated by the provincial and municipal governments.
PNU Visayas (formerly known as PNC Cadiz) opened on July 22, 1968, through the effort of Negros Occidental First District Representative Armando C. Gustilo and Cadiz Mayor Heracleo Villacin.
From Bachelor of Elementary Education and Bachelor of Secondary Education, its program offerings expanded to include master's degrees and, more recently, doctorate. For a few years, it also offered engineering courses in consortium with Technological University of the Philippines – Visayas.
The Mindanao branch opened on August 12, 1968, as the second regional branch of PNC. It sits on a 15.4-hectare donated lot along the Gibong River in Prosperidad, Agusan (now part of Agusan del Sur after the division of the province) secured by then-Agusan Lone District Representative Jose C. Aquino.
It provides leadership in cultural activities for the preservation of folk arts: the music, dance, and rituals of the Manobos and Higaonons of the province.
PNU offers programs in elementary, secondary, and tertiary levels. However, the majority of the undergraduate and graduate programs are offered only on the Manila campus. The undergraduate programs follow an outcomes-based teacher education curriculum that puts emphasis on content specialization.
In 2014, PNU was identified by a study of the Philippine Business for Education as one of the top-performing schools in the licensure examination for teachers in both elementary and secondary levels. The five-year study analyzed the passing rates of 1,025 institutions that offer an elementary education program and 1,259 institutions that offer a secondary education program.
The College of Flexible Learning and e-PNU functions as a degree and non-degree college that manages the university's online undergraduate and graduate degree programs, and continuing education programs.
The College of Graduate Studies and Teacher Education Research of the Philippine Normal University is the largest graduate school of education in the country with 12 doctorate programs and 62 masters programs in fields of specialization. It has only one faculty, the Graduate Teacher Education Faculty. CGSTER is in the Pedro Orata Hall of the university.
The College of Teacher Development is the undergraduate school of the university that offers bachelor's degree in early childhood, elementary, and secondary education with fields of specialization. The College Dean is assisted by five associate deans of faculties — Languages and Literature (FLL) that houses the fields of English and Filipino; Behavioral and Social Sciences (FBeSS) that houses the fields of Psychology, Social Sciences, and Values Education; Education and Information Sciences (FEIS) that houses the fields of Early Childhood Education, Library and Information Sciences, and Technology and Livelihood Education with Specialization in Information Technology; General Education and Experiential Learning (FGEEL) that manages the freshmen students and the 4th year students that are taking Field Study 1 and 2, and Practice Teaching; and Science, Technology and Mathematics (FSTeM) that houses the fields of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Mathematics and Science Elementary, and Physics.
The Institute of Creative Expressions and Human Movement Education offers the bachelor's degree in Physical Education and Culture and Arts Education that spearheads the athletic, recreation, and dance events in the university.
The Institute of Teaching and Learning is the basic education unit of the university. It houses the kindergarten, grade school and junior high school students and serves as the training ground for the Field Studies and Practice Teaching of the pre-service teachers of the university.
The highest decision-making body of the university is the Board of Regents. It is vested with general powers of administration and the exercise of title powers of the corporation. As of January 31, 2025, its members are:
The University and Board Secretary is Mr. Janir T. Datukan.
The members serve without compensation but they are reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in their attendance of meetings of the Board or in connection with their official business authorities by resolution of the Board.
The administration of the university is vested in the president, who is appointed to a four-year renewable term, by the Board of Regents upon the recommendation of a search committee. As provided by law, the PNU President also sits as a member of the Literacy Coordinating Council. The incumbent University President is Bert J. Tuga who was appointed on December 10, 2019.
The University President is assisted by four vice presidents - for academics; finance and administration; research, planning, and quality assurance; and university relations and advancement.
Each regional branch is headed by an executive director and provost appointed by the Board of Regents upon the recommendation of the University President.
As a state university, funding for PNU primarily comes from the government subsidy allocated in the national budget or General Appropriations Act. Under Republic Act No. 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, PNU students are exempted from tuition and other school fees.
For 2023, the university was appropriated with ₱874,529,000 (from ₱880,462,000 in 2022) in the General Appropriations Act broken down as follows: ₱620,184,000 for Personnel Services; ₱190,427,000 for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses; and ₱25,000,000 for Capital Outlays. For 2024, the proposed budget for PNU is ₱925,474,000.
In 2020, PNU reported a total of ₱54,118,968.41 in revenues and ₱622,266,184.05 in expenses.
In 2016, PNU budget was decreased by ₱132 million (19%) from its 2015 budget of ₱690 million due to a one-time congressional insertion in 2015 of ₱100M and its low utilization rate.
American-era (1921) bronze and marble plaque for Filipino WWI soldier Tomas Claudio installed at Tomas Claudio Memorial Elementary School. A historical marker by the NHI was installed in his honor in 1992 at the town plaza of Morong. Founded in 1912, The Torch (Filipino: Ang Sulo) is the official student publication of the university. It publishes periodicals and other printed materials funded, managed, and written by the students. The Torch publishes at least seven issues annually with the option of supplements, a special Filipino issue, called Ang Sulo, and a literary folio, called Aklas.
It also holds activities, contests, and events, such as the annual "Liyab", a citywide journalism training seminar for high school publications, the "LitSem" or Literary Seminar workshop, and the Gawad Genoveva Edroza-Matute.
The publication is a member of the Progresibong Lupon ng mga Manunulat ng PNU (PLUMA-PNU) and the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP).