Chiang Kai Shek College (菲律濱中正學院) is the first institution of higher learning in the Philippines founded by overseas Chinese-Filipinos. Chiang Kai Shek College is a non-stock, non-profit, non-sectarian institution established in 1939. Recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), it offers preschool, Montessori, K to 12, college, and graduate studies programs. The school aims to provide its students modern and competitive education while continuing the legacy of using Chinese, in particular Mandarin and Hokkien, as languages for practical discourse in addition to Filipino and English.
Chiang Kai Shek College is also an International Baccalaureate Candidate School with ongoing Primary Years and Middle Years Programmes. Winner of the 2017 Excellence in Educational Transformation Award (EETA) for Outstanding Innovations in Leadership, Governance and Management, Chiang Kai Shek College has a Level III FAAP accreditation as audited by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAASCU).
History
In 1955, a Normal School was established to offer a two-year course for Chinese teacher-training. In 1958, the Wong Chun Seng Memorial Preschool was established.
Chiang Kai Shek High School became a college in 1965 with the initial offering of two (2) four-year collegiate courses: Bachelor of Secondary Education (B.S.E.), Major in Chinese Literature and History; and Bachelor of Secondary Education, Major in General Education. Dr. Pao Shih Tien was the first College President. In 1968, with the offering of the Elementary Course, CKS College became one of the pioneer Chinese-Filipino educational institutions that offer complete education from preschool to college levels.
In 1973, with Presidential Decree 176 ordering the integration of all foreign schools into the Philippine Educational System, the school has been offering three (3) Chinese subjects both in Grade School and in High School. The school was also granted a permit to offer a two-year Pre-College Course in Chinese Instruction.
In June 1990, the Language Learning Center was established.
In 1997, the school was granted by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to offer two Graduate Programs: Master in Business Administration (M.B.A.) and Master of Arts in Education (M.A. in Ed.)
In June 1999, the collegiate department moved to the new building at Narra Street. In November 2000, the Preschool and Kindergarten Department started offering the Montessori Class, and in June 2009 it opened the Day Care Center to provide respite for working parents.
With the implementation of the K to 12 Curriculum by the Department of Education under President Benigno Aquino, the Board of Trustees appointed Dr. Dory Poa as Consultant of the Board for Curriculum Development and Chairman of the Special Task Force on K+12. In June 2013, Dr. Bee Ching Ong Kian Koc retired and Dr. Dory Poa was appointed as the new College President.