BRIEF HISTORY OF THE LYCEUM OF APARRI

Acting upon the persistent requests of parents along the coastal towns, Archbishop Teodulfo S. Domingo opened the LYCEUM OF APARRI on July 5, 1967. It was established on a lot owned and acquired from the Talamayan, Garcia and Pablo families. Msgr. Diosdado A. Talamayan, the Archbishop of Tuguegarao, was appointed as its first Rector. Rev. Gregorio Pagulayan was the first Registrar-Comptroller. The following courses were offered during the school’s first year of operation: Complete Four-Year Secondary Course, First Year Liberal Arts and Business Administration.

In August of 1969, when Monsignor Talamayan left for the post-graduate degree in Teacher Education at Columbia University in New York, Rev. Fr. Vicente Catral and Rev. Fr. Jose Aquino were appointed Acting Rector and Comptroller, respectively. In 1969, during the term of Rev. Quintin Garcia and Rev. Arnulfo Ventura as Rector and Comptroller, permits for the Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education and Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education were obtained. In August 1970, Monsignor Talamayan reassumed his post as head of the school with the title of President. In 1971, permits for complete Elementary Course and Associate in Secretarial Course were obtained. In 1972, the ROTC Department was activated as a separate unit. Aside from obtaining full recognition of all courses, permits for Master of Arts in Education, Two-Year Course in Accounting Aide, Two-Year Course in Junior Secretarial, One-Year General Clerical Course, and One-Year Bookkeeping were obtained. In June 1972, the Franciscan Apostolic Sisters were assigned to take care of the offices of the Registrar and Treasurer.

Lyceum of Aparri continued to expand with the offering of different major fields of concentration in Education and Business Administration. Permit to offer Engineering was granted in 1972. To prepare vocational and technical manpower in line with the thrust of the government, permits for one-year Electronic Serviceman for Radio Receivers, six-month Tailoring and Dressmaking were acquired in 1974. For the benefit of the working students, an evening session in the Secondary Level was opened in 1976. The Science High School was approved in 1979 to prepare students for higher technological courses.

To answer the growing needs of the community for medical care and to prepare the way for the eventual offering of medical courses, the Lyceum of Aparri Hospital was opened in 1980. Now, a new and bigger hospital building is built and medical services with the new set of equipment and facilities are made accessible to the public last April 7, 2002.

In 1982, government recognition was granted to the two-year Course in Midwifery; in 1985, the three-year Associate in Geodetic Engineering and the five-year Course in Civil Engineering: and in, 1990, the Bachelor of Science in Secretarial Administration.

Together with curricular expansion, the school is continuously working to improve its human and physical resources. The College was granted Level I Accreditation by the Philippine Association of College and Universities (PACU) in January of 1987. A year after, this was upgraded to Level II Accredited Status on March 9, 1988 and was further re-accredited with the same status on January 3, 1991, all under the leadership of Fr. Ranhilio C. Aquino. It was also during his incumbency as Executive Vice President that the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program was opened as regular curricular offering. Successful as it was in previous years, the school was again re-accredited to Level II status on the first semester of school year 1995-1996.

The first half of the 90’s witnessed another surge in curriculum expansion with the following course offerings under the stewardship of Father Aquino:

1991 - The Nursing Department was granted permit to operate

1992 - Recognition was granted to school’s BS Accountancy Course

1993 - Permits to operate the following courses were granted:

- BS in Marine Transportation

- BS in Physical Therapy; and

- Ph.D. in Education

From 1993 to 1995, Monsignor Quinto took over Father Aquino’s post after the latter was re- assigned. As executive Vice President of the Lyceum, Monsignor Quinto worked of the granting of a permit for Associate in Marine Transportation which was granted in the year 1995.

During the incumbency of Archbishop Diosdado A. Talamayan, D.D. as President and Rev. Fr. Joel M. Reyes as Executive Vice President, the school saw an unprecedented improvement surge in both curricular expansion and physical development. The construction and transfer to a new location of the new Lyceum of Aparri Hospital is an inviolable proof of the Archdiocese’s commitment to serving the people in this part of the province. Rev. Fr. Joel M. Reyes, who first came over to Lyceum of Aparri in 1993, worked for the construction and/or completion of the computer building, the covered walk, mini park, canteen, grotto park, and drainage system and the renovation and upgrading of various facilities and equipment. Permits to operate BS Computer Science, Associate in Computer Science and Computer Secretarial Course, with the completion of the building for this purpose were all realized in 1996.

Subsequently, in November 1996, the school was given Level II 2nd Re-Accreditation for having satisfactorily met the standards and complied with the requirements of the PACU-COA in the Liberal Arts, Commerce and Education Programs. This distinction is valid until 2001.

In SY 200- 2001, the school started its operation on the following programs: Kindergarten, BS Computer Engineering, BS Criminology and BS in Geodetic Engineering, and as early as SY 2001 – 2002 the CHED – RO2has already granted permission to accept applicants for BS Hotel and Restaurant Management. In June 2003. the school has started its TESDA accredited 6 – month Caregiver Course. In the same year, It has successfully hurdled the Level II 3rd Re- accreditation of its Liberal Arts, Commerce, and Education Programs by the PACU-COA. It is also busy Preparing the pertinent documents and papers in its application for Level I Accreditation of its Engineering, Nursing, Computer Science, High School, Elementary School Programs.

Lyceum of Aparri continues to enjoy the distinction of being the biggest center of learning in northern Luzon run by Catholic diocesan priest. It has been cited as one of the Top Ten School among 71 higher education institutions in Region 02. Is has, from its foundation, been a member of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines ( CEAP ), the Philippines Association of Graduate Education ( PAGE ), and the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities ( PACU ), and other prestigious educational and socio-civic organizations.