RICHARD WEE: Community support vital for continuance of Chinese education.
RICHARD Wee believes unwavering support from the Chinese community is the pre-requisite to the continuance of Chinese education in the state.
He says continued efforts by the community to promote and preserve Chinese education are vital to ensure its role as a medium for higher learning and academic advancement, not forgetting the opportunity it presents for learning and mastering more than one (or two) language.
He himself attended Chung Hua Middle School No. 1 before heading to the United Kingdom for further studies.
Well-versed in Chinese and western cultures, Wee, who is chairman of the management board of Kuching Chung Hua Middle School Nos. 1, 3 and 4, seeks to give students the opportunity to have a good education and fulfill their academic potential.
With the Chung Hua Middle Schools’ Grand Dinner approaching, he shares with thesundaypost the benefits of attending a Chinese private school and challenges of managing Chinese education in the state.
Q: Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got involved with Chinese education in the state.
A: I’m from Chung Hua Middle School No. 1, graduating in the year 1977. After that, I went to the UK for further studies before coming back to join my father’s company.
Upon my return, I started to get involved with the formation of the school’s alumni body. In 1991, I joined the school board and became its chairman in 2000.
Chung Hua Middle School Nos. 1, 3 and 4 are private Chinese schools under one same management board. The school board supervises, manages and oversees all the three schools.
Q: How did these schools come about and become a group of schools under one management?
A: These schools started 68 years ago. In those days, the different associations such as the Hokkien Association, the Hakka Association and the Teochew Association ran their own schools.
All these schools started as Chinese-medium schools with the aim to propagate the culture of the Chinese community and their mother tongue.
Then, the associations decided to come together to form one board of management. They put all the schools together – that was how Chung Hua Primary Schools Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 came about.
Once they had done this, the associations realised the teaching from primary one to six was very basic.
To inculcate better understanding of Chinese culture and values and ensure continuity, they set up Chinese secondary schools as an alternative to government-aided schools. Subsquently, Chung Hua Middle School Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 were established.
Q: Now there are Chung Hua Middle School Nos. 1, 3 and 4. Where is Chung Hua Middle School No. 2?
A: SMK Kuching High was where Chung Hua Middle School No. 2 used to be.
It happened that in 1961 the government offered all private schools the choice to become government-aided schools or stay private.
Chung Hua Middle School Nos. 1, 3 and 4 decided to stay pirvate while Chung Hua Middle School No. 2 which was started by the Teochew Association, decided to go for government aid and became SMK Kuching High.
Q: When were the most difficult times in the history of these schools?
A: That would be in the 70’s and 80’s. The schools then were facing the most difficult times due to the communist insurgency.
I remember when I was in Junior One, we suddenly saw police and field force personnel in the school compound. Those found having links with the communists, including the teachers, were rounded up in the school hall and later held at the Sixth Mile Detention Camp.
This had caused a lot of uneasiness among the parents. At that time, the population of the students dropped drastically. With fewer students, the school had lesser income. The management board even had to borrow from their chairman, the late Tan Sri Wee Boon Ping, to pay the teachers’ salaries. Of course, he was paid back later but those were the difficult days.
Q: How have these three schools survived to stay open over the last 68 years?
A: They have gone through many trials and tribulations. Their survival is based on community support. For example, the 16 acres where Chung Hua Middle School No. 1 is located was donated by Kuek Siak Hong to whom the management board owes a great debt of gratitude.
My grandfather Wee Kheng Chiang donated the school hall. And the communty raised funds to build the classrooms. All the schools have that kind of beginning.
After the schools were built, the main source of income was generated through school fees. But as the schools are community-based, we have always felt we should try to make studying at the schools as economical as possible for children (and their parents) from different backgrounds.
All three schools were experiencing a deficit until a few years ago. We did some restructuring by having 40 students and above in one class and adjusting the school fees of RM10.
This restructuring was for costs control and containment. At the same time, we tried to improve our revenue.
The effort has been going on for five years and it was only in the last two years that Chung Hua Middle School No. 1 started to show a surplus while the other two (Nos. 3 and 4) are still in deficit.
As we cross-subsidise, we are all doing okay. That’s how the other two schools continue to survive.
Q: Why has the financial situation of the schools improved over the last two years?
A: The last two years had seen quite a significant improvement in the intake of new students. Enrolment has been easier because China has become economically stronger. Everyone tries to do business with China and Mandarin has become popular. That has helped.
The second reason is that the schools have been producing consistently good results, especially in external competitions such as the ones organised by Dewan Pustaka and Bahasa, not to mention state or nationwide Chinese debating contests.
As chairman of the management board, I must say I’m really pleased with the results of the last few years. In 2012, our Junior One intake was more than 300.
I had just checked last week that for next year’s intake, 150 had already enrolled with us. And this is only August.
At this rate, we are bound to reach a saturation point. When that happens, I don’t intent to build new classrooms. What we will do is to introduce entrance exam or we can always tell parents to consider Chung Hua Middle School Nos. 3 or 4. Managing three schools may present its own problems but it also has its flexibility.
Q: What in your view is necessary to ensure the survival of Chinese education in Sarawak?
A: I think continuous support from the Chinese community is the pre-requisite. If the Chinese community stop their support, we probably will not be able to continue. So to ensure the continuance of Chinese education, the moral obligation of the Chinese communty towards promoting and preserving it is vital.
Of course, the schools must also be able to produce the results to convince parents that enrolment is worth considering.
The biggest stumbling block to Chinese education in our society is that United Entrance Certificate (UEC) has not been recognised by the government. This is sad. It’s our home-grown certificate, recognised by the rest of the world except our own country.
Q: Generally, what in your view are the difficulties and challenges in managing Chinese schools?
A: The main challenge now is the recruitment of teachers. In the earlier days when degrees from universities in Taiwan were not recognised, the graduates, especially those with degrees in chemistry or physics, had no choice but to take up teaching posts in Chinese private schools.
In the recent years, however, the government has recognised Taiwan degrees. Now Taiwan graduates can even work in government departments.
You could say it’s a double-edged sword. We are happy for these graduates on the one hand while we find ourselves facing the grave problem of not having enough teachers on the other.
Q: How important is it for Chung Hua Middle Schools or other Chinese schools in the state to continue?
A: I think fundamentally it’s always good to be able to command more than one language.
Being Chinese, I want to know my own language and values – it’s something that needs to be inculcated through the Chinese schools.
You must go through that kind of environment to have that kind of upbringing. For a person to go through 12 years of Chinese education, his or her values and outlook will be totally different from one who is just able to converse in the Chinese language.
I’m not saying Chinese teachings are 100 per cent right or wrong. But for a student who has studied in a Chinese school and later gone overseas to experience western culture, he or she will find it much easier to cross two cultures.
You can choose which cultural approach to use in a given situation. For example, I always believe though Chinese-educated, we cannot keep harping on defending Chinese values without understanding the values of other cultures. That’s why we have tried to increase the number of English lessons in our syllabus.
Now, the textbooks for Senior One to Three are all in English although the teachers lecture in Mandarin.And for students who want to take SPM, they can do so by attending a special course designed for it.
Some parents might feel it’s too much for their children but I believe children are like sponges – they absorb things readily.
Many of our graduates such as my own children never regret their years in Chung Hua Middle School No 1. If need be, they will still make the same choice.
Q: What are the benefits of attending a Chinese school?
A: If you come to our schools and do six years, not only will you be given UEC, you will also get your SPM. Don’t you think that’s an advantage?
Our schools give you more certification and accreditation and you can also learn three languages.
Everybody recognises that Chinese schools are stronger in maths and science and also have better discipline. So parents should see the advantage and benefit of sending their children here.
That’s why I sent all my children to Chinese private school. For me, I just want them to go through that education environment.
Furthermore, it seems easier to learn Chinese first and pick up English later. The reverse is harder.
With Mandarin being so popular now, a lot of friends my age are trying to pick up the language. So many of them are learning on their own. They buy books, go to Google Translate and have their smart phone to help them with the pronounciation. If they send their children to us, the young ones will not have to struggle like they do.
Q. What is the reason for holding the Grand Reunion Dinner this year?
A: Each school board has its own fund-raising events every year. I won’t call the Grand Reunion Dinner an annual event because it’s too big an undertaking to fulfill every year.
Apart from the fund-raising – we are targetting RM5 million – we hope to bring the old boys together. The last time we did it was in 2000. It has been a while – so why not do it again this year?
What’s heartening is that a lot of the old boys will be coming back from overseas to attend the function. Some have migrated to Australia and New Zealand and they are making arrangements to be present.
Q: It’s reported that RM4 million has been raised for the dinner. How will the funds be used?
A: We will definitely be looking at welfare of the teachers, making sure that they are well-remunerated and hoping to attract teachers to join our schools.
I would also like to upgrade the software of our schools. The hardware is already in place. Two years ago, we launched e-learning facilities by installing LED screen in every class which could be linked to the teachers’ computers.
Moreover, in one of the classrooms, we have an electronic board you can write on and whatever is written can be printed out immediately.
We are going to use the funds raised to improve this higher efficiency techonology.
Q: Do you expect to reach the targetted RM5 million?
A: It’s encouraging to note that we have already raised RM4 million and most dinner tickets have been sold out. The RM4 million does not include the table price at RM500 each.
We are preparing 1,000 tables. But, of course, we have to reserve some tables for the teachers – present and retired – and others.
Let’s say there are 900 tables. That means RM450,000 in addition to the RM4 million. Then on the night itself, I am told each batch of graduates will be presenting the amount they raised among the alumni of the same year.
We have a history of 68 years and if every group were to raise RM1,000, it means RM68,000 more for us. I’m confident we can raise RM5 million from this Grand Reunion Dinner.