RIZAL IN HIS HIGHER

EDUCATION
Grace L. Siplac
 Rizal took and passed the examination in
COLLEGE OF SAN JUAN DE LETRAN but he
enrolled in ATENEO when he came back to
Manila.
 Academic Performance in Ateneo

 According to Ambeth Ocampo there were only

twelve students in a class, nine of which,
including Jose Rizal, graduated sobresaliente
with the same excellent mark in all their
subjects in school year 1876-77.
 At the age of 16 – Rizal graduated with highest
honors. He took a post-graduated course there
in land surveying.
 1877 – completed his surveyor’s training
 May 1878 - passed the licensing exam

 1881 – granted a license in 1881

 June 10, 1872-accompanied by Paciano.

He took the entrance examinations at the College

of San Juan de Letran which was first wish by his
father but change to Ateneo instead.
 Fr. Magin Fernando refuse to admit him
because:
 LATE REGISTRATION

 SICKLY AND UNDERSIZED FOR HIS AGE

Fr. Manuel Xerez-Burgos (nephew of Fr. Burgos)

interceded
 His Activities in Atenoe
 Study and reading until 4 p.m.
 Some of the books read by Rizal:

( 1) The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander

Dumas
(2 ) Travels in the Philippines by Dr. Feodor
(Fyodor) Jagor
 4 – 5 exercise

 5 – 6 social and misc obligations.

 1st year in Ateneo
LATIN- Excellent
SPANISH- Excellent
GREEK- Excellent

 2nd year in Ateneo

Spanish- Excellent
Greek-Excellent
WORLD GEOGRAPHY- Excellent
 When Rizal Enters Ateneo.
 Returned to Calamba in March 1874 for his

summer vacation.
 2nd year in Ateneo (1873-1874)

Received excellent grades and a gold medal.

Returned to Calamba in March 1874 for his
summer vacation.
 3rd year in Ateneo
LATIN- Excellent
SPANISH- Excellent
WORLD HISTORY- Excellent
HISTORY OF SPAIN & PHIL.- Excellent
ARETHMETIC- Excellent
ALGEBRA- Excellent
GREEK- Excellent
 4th year in Ateneo
RHETORIC & POETRY- Excellent
FRENCH- Excellent
GEOMETRIC & TRIGONOMETRY- Excellent

 5th Year in Ateneo

PHILOSOPHY- Excellent
PHILOSOPHY 2- Excellent
MINERALOGY & CHEMISTRY- Excellent
PHYSICS- Excellent
BOTANY & ZOOLOGY- Excellent
 (https://prezi.com/pmvtmvn2399m/rizals-education-in-
binan-and-triumph-in-ateneo-de-municipa/)
 Rizal at the University of Santo Tomas 1877-1882

 Jose Rizal, having completed his Bachiller en

Artes at the Ateneo Municipal, was now eligible
for higher education at a university. His mother,
Doña Teodora, had second thoughts about
sending her son to school because of the
previous incident involving the execution of
friars Gomez, Burgos and Zamora. However, it
was Don Francisco who decided his son should
to the University of Santo Tomas, a prestigious
institution run by the Dominican order.
 Rizal, upon entering the university, was not
certain which course of study he wanted to
pursue. The Jesuit priests who had been his
former mentors had advised him to take up
farming, or to join the order and be a man of
the cloth. However, his tastes went towards
law, literature, or medicine. In the end, he
decided to sign up for Philosophy and Letters
during his freshman year because of the
following
 reasons:
1. It was what his father would have wanted for him.
2. He had failed to seek the advice of the rector of the
Ateneo, Father Ramon Pablo.
As part of the course, he had to complete units in the
following subjects:
 Cosmology and Metaphysics
 Theodicy
 History of Philosophy
His report card was very impressive.
 Shifting to Medicine
 After completing his first year, Rizal decided to
take up medicine as his university course. This
change of heart was due to two factors:
 Father Ramon Pablo, rector of the Ateneo, had
advised him to pursue the course.
 Rizal's mother had failing eyesight and he
thought he owed it to her to become a doctor
and cure her condition.
 Rizal's performance at the University of Santo Tomas
was not as excellent as his time at the Ateneo. His
grades after shifting to medicine had suffered as well.
 Unfortunately, Rizal was not happy at UST and this
reflected on his grades (Zaide & Zaide, 1999).
 There were three main factors that contributed to his
unhappiness at the university, namely:
1. The Dominican professors were hostile to him.
2. Filipino students suffered discrimination.
3. The method of instruction at UST was obsolete and
repressive.
 Likewise, there were three main reasons for his
struggling academic performance (Guerrero,
1998):
1. Rizal was not satisfied with the system of
education at the university.
2. There were plenty of things to distract a young
man in the peak of his youth.
3. Medicine was not Rizal's true vocation.
He would later find out that his real calling was in
the arts, not in medicine.
 THANK YOU

FOR

LISTENING

GRACE L. SIPLAC