#greatfounder

The establishment of the Mindanao Institute of Technology (MIT), now the University of Southern Mindanao (USM), was conceived by the late Bai Hadja Fatima Matabay Plang, a prominent Muslim lady educator and dedicated social worker. Her vision of this state college was to provide education for the poor but deserving youth and to promote cultural integration in this part of the country. The process was tedious but she was determined to make the sacrifices. It took years before she could finally negotiate the uphill struggle.

Spending her own money, much time and efforts, she lobbied incessantly in the halls of Congress and in Malacañang for the establishment of the Institute. She also lobbied for the transfer of the 1,024-hectares government estate in Kabacan, Cotabato under the administration of the National Fiber Corporation (NAFCO) to the MIT as a land grant where the Institution was to be established for educational purposes. Finally, her efforts and sacrifices culminated with success when the late President Elpidio Quirino signed on June 20, 1952 Republic Act No. 763 creating the Mindanao Institute of Technology.

To have a working knowledge on the operation of a state college, she went on a study grant to observe the administration and organization of the Berea State College - in Kentucky, U.S.A. She furthermore observed the operation of the Central Luzon Agricultural College (now CLSU) in Munoz, Nueva Ecija, one of the first state colleges established in the Philippines, prior to the opening of the MIT. Meantime, she continued to work for the necessary funding of the college to be opened. Eventually, Republic Act No. 998, otherwise known as the Enabling Act, was signed into law by the late President Ramon Magsaysay on June 10, 1954. This Act appropriated an amount of P200,000.00 for the operation of the College during the fiscal year 1954 to 1955. This facilitated the formal opening of the MIT on October 1, 1954.

The defunct Kabacan Junior High School, then a provincial school of Cotabato, became the nucleus of the MIT by virtue of Provincial Board Resolution No. 164, s. 1954. This affected the transfer of all assets and liabilities of the said high school including Two Hundred Forty Eight (248) students and Ten (10) teachers to the College.

The collegiate department was opened in June 1955 and three degree programs in agriculture, Home Technology and Industrial Arts and two-degree courses in Rubber Technology and Farm Mechanics as initial collegiate offerings with some 800 students. Secondary agriculture and homemaking curricula were offered in the high school department.

After 24 years of gradual but steady development, the MIT was converted into the University of Southern Mindanao by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1312 Issued by former Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos on March 13, 1978.

Today the USM had become a center of high level manpower development in agriculture and allied sciences in Southern Philippines. With its multi-academic units, increasing capabilities, strong alumni and public support, and above all, dedicated students, faculty and staff and capable administration, the University continues to pursue Its mission, thereby perpetuating the ideals of the Founder of the Institution, Bai Hadja Fatima Matabay Plang. (T.C. de la Cruz)