With education close at heart

IT did not occur to him that he would dedicate 40 years of his life to Chinese education but the limited employment opportunities in the early 70’s and his enthusiasm for guiding the young had kept him in the teaching profession until his retirement last year.

Former principal of Kuching Chung Hua Middle School (CHMS) No. 1 and CHMS No.3, Kho Boo Lin, 72, got his degree in agronomy at the National Taiwan University in 1971. In the same year, he decided to return to his country to work.

Since he majored in food management and plant breeding, he realised he would not be able to find a job in Kuching that was relevant to his degree.

Instead of waiting for opportunities to come knocking, he travelled to peninsular Malaysia where a cousin of his friend’s ran a business in Cameron Highlands.

His friend’s cousin suggested they work on a partnership and both even tried to acquire land for cultivation. Despite the plan, Kho decided to fly home for the Lunar New Year after a month in the peninsula.

“There were very few job offers at the time,” the septuagenarian recalled.

Left with little choice, he had to settle for a job as construction worker in Kuching, earning RM6 per hour. Three months later, he came across an advertisement stating that CHMS No.1 was looking for teachers.

He submitted his application to try his luck. Good news followed. The principal,who was his teacher, decided to recruit him.

Kho quit his construction job and started teaching. But after a year, together with two other teachers, he decided there was more to life than teaching. So they resigned and left for Singapore — only that they did not expect to remain jobless there for a month.

They even tried to become tutors but things did not work out. Just when they thought nothing good would happen, Kho received a call from the CHMS No. 1 principal who was hoping they would return to the school.

As if fated, they returned to teaching again. Not only did Kho get to teach again, he was also promoted as the head of discipline. He beamed as he recalled leading various groups of students on field trips in and around the city and to places such as Bau, Santubong and Bako National Park.

Kho said during his time, many young teachers got along really well.

“Many of us mingled with our students, playing sports and football, in particular, together. Between 1973 and 1975, we were crazy about football and it was all fun.”

In 1978, he was appointed head of educational affairs. Even though he enjoyed teaching and was truly committed to the school, he let go of the post three years later.

Doing something different

He did not totally quit teaching because the school accepted his suggestion of going part-time.

A hardware store proprietor who came to him with a better offer in 1981, made him decide to do something different. So he began running a pet fish shop with a friend. The joint venture lasted 10 years.

“The partnership ended in 1992. Before that, in 1988, I went back to full-time teaching and was made head of discipline again. Some 10 years later, I switched to part-time again while doing my mushroom-grooming business.”

While Kho was teaching part-time at CHMS No.1 from 1998, the board of management of a Chinese independent school in Miri approached him with the job of principal. But he turned it down.

In 2000, the principal of CHMS No.1 retired. Kho, who was considered a senior teacher at the school was recommended by the board of management to take over. When the appointment was finalised in 2001, he gave up his mushroom-grooming business and focused on developing the school.

The principal’s post was not handed to him just like that.

“Besides attending seven interviews, I was expected to submit a report on why I aspire to be the principal.”

To this day, he still keeps the report that reminds him of the days he strove for the betterment of the school.

Improvement projects

During his tenure from 2001 and 2005, Kho improved the school’s library, hall and fencing. He got all these projects done without spending a single sen of the management board.

The then Assistant Minister for Industrial Development Datuk Sim Kheng Hui channelled some state funding for the projects.

Kho also opened two fully-sponsored computer rooms for CHMS No.1 during his five years as principal. To appreciate their contributions, he tagged the 100 computers with the sponsors’ names.

“The school also organised some activities to generate income. The money we had was well spent. Every ringgit was accounted for.

“I spent more time interacting with the students as principal. It was worthwhile understanding more about the young and I could not be more pleased many alumni still keep in touch with me,” he said.

In 2004, Kho underwent a balloon heart valve surgery after which he spent much of his time herb-planting.

He said the herbs helped him recover better, and he had not been on medication since the procedure.

As soon as he retired as the principal of CHMS No.1 in 2005, he put a lot of efforts into planting mulberries. He could even recall selling a km for RM27.

Carrying on as principal

Retirement was wonderfully relaxing for Kho as he had all the time to himself for herb studies and planting. However, in 2008, he was requested to fill in for the principal of CHMS No. 3 who had to further his Masters studies.

The agreement was that he served for two years – only that things did not turn out as planned. The principal who was supposed to return in two years, decided otherwise. So Kho had to carry on in his place.

His enthusiasm for improving CHMS No.3 never waned. He even found it intriguing he was able stay on as CHMS No.3 principal (2008-2014) longer than his tenure at CHMS No.1 (2001-2005).

“When I first started at CHMS No.3, there were only 160 students. The school ran up an annual deficit of RM500,000. It was quite a shock. And I was expected to reduce the deficit, if not break even.”

After studying the school structure, he embarked on a restructuring process.

The teaching staff was reduced and classes re-arranged to save operating costs.

Many teachers were upset with the restructuring but Kho did what he had to for the survival of the school.

The changes he made – albeit unwelcomed – produced results the following year with the deficit down to RM230,000.  In the third year, he even managed to make a little income for the school through various fund-raising campaigns.

But the good days did not last too long as the school slipped back into the red – with a deficit of over RM200,000 — last year when he retired.

According to Kho, the operating costs increased significantly through a major salary review for the teachers and supporting staff.

Counselling for students

Although teaching was his bread and butter, he also spent time counselling Senior Three students.

He said many students were unaware of the opportunities to pursue tertiary education.

“Whether you are good or poor in academic studies, it does not matter so long as you have the heart for higher studies.

“Some poor students thought it was the end for them after the Senior Three. What they didn’t realise is many higher learning institutions in Taiwan are offering scholarships without a bond.

“Education is the key to a better future. There are no other better ways to shape one’s life except through education.”

Having been in the teaching profession for four decades, Kho said it was vital for teachers to place the needs and interests of their students above all else.

Towards this end, he felt facilities and infrastructures in the school had to be upgraded to provide a conducive environment for learning.

He believed students had to be encouraged to work hard and build a strong character as this would help them pursue their dreams with confidence and fortitude.

“I tried my best to help the students with tertiary education. Regardless of their results, there are always ways to go about applying for scholarships. You just need to know where to look or be led on the right path.”

After 36 years of commitment at CHMS No.1 and six years of contributions at CHMS No.3, Kho has been honoured with a number of awards by both local and foreign institutions, including the Overseas Chinese Affairs Council and China Overseas Exchanges Association.

Besides being awarded the Wee Boon Ping Spiritual Award 2013 for his dedicated  services at the two Chinese independent schools, he also received, among others, two gold pendants from CHMS boards of management and alumni association.

Among the successful people taught by Kho are president of Kuching Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and Industry Datuk Wee Kok Tiong, chairman of Board of Management for Kuching CHMS No.1, 3 and 4 Richard Wee, Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong, SUPP Youth chief Tan Kai, SUPP former Wanita chief Tnay Li Ping, MBKS councillor Chong Lee Choo and international recording artiste and actress Jessie Chung.

“There are others who became doctors, Chinese physicians, dentists and successful businessmen,” Kho beamed.

To a hypothetical question, he said: “I will not overstay my welcome. But if I’m really needed to fill in for some staff, I do not mind doing it.”

Herb garden at school

Before his retirement at CHMS No.3, he opened a herb garden at the school. Now, he still visits the school regularly to look after the garden and even plans to increase the number of herbs and fruit trees there.

He also nurtures over 20 types of herbs and fruit trees at his home. Apart from mulberries, he has aloe vera, rodent tuber, black face general, noni, clinacanthus nutans, salvia plebeian, tamariskoid spikemoss, stevia, pandan, green chiretta, abrus herb and rhoeo tricolor.

After the interview, he offered a tour of his personal herb garden.

Kho also runs a mulberry garden in Kota Santosa. The plants at the garden, set  up six years ago, include crystal fruits, agilawood and fragrant coconuts.