KANGAR: It was a nondescript Chinese primary school in Kuala Perlis that suddenly came under the national spotlight when it was revealed that the majority of its students were Malay.
According to one of the parents, who wished to be known only as Mainah, 47, this trend had actually been building up in SJK (C) Khay Beng over the past few years.
“This (pattern emerged) after the efforts of a teacher who conducted free tuition classes for Malay pupils. Since then, the school has received more and more Malay pupils. It was a noble act by her. We miss her,” she said.
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The dedicated teacher is none other than Beh Chooi Ken, 59, who provided free tuition for Malay pupils to strengthen their grasp of the Mandarin language.Beh, who is now retired, said she merely took up a suggestion by the then headmistress of the school in 2019.
“We had quite a number of Malay pupils then. But most of them did not have the basic Mandarin language skills.“The headmistress suggested I give them tuition to help them,” she said.Beh said she took up the challenge and set up a new timetable for this extra class.
“The programme kicked off in the middle of 2019 … We had about 20 pupils in the first tuition class, ranging from Year One to Year Five. The extra class was 90 minutes long and once a week, without any charges,” she added.
Beh said the supplementary lessons delighted her pupils’ parents.She said that within a few weeks, she received “overwhelmingly positive” feedback.
“They (parents of Malay pupils) expressed their gratitude to me and the school.
“Some personally came to see me and thank me for my dedication to their children’s education.
“I explained to them that learning Mandarin would open up new opportunities for their children in the future and enable them to navigate Malaysia’s multicultural landscape with confidence,” she said.
Beh recalled one particular pupil who could not write or understand Mandarin at all.
After attending tuition for three weeks, he managed to score a “B” in his Mandarin subject in the UPSR exams in 2020.Beh said the programme had indirectly also improved enrolment at the school at the time, with more Malay parents willing to send their children there.
However, when Covid-19 hit the country in March 2020, the tuition programme was scrapped.
Currently, the school has slightly over 50 pupils, with more than half of them being Malay kids.
Beh, who had been a teacher for about 27 years, said even after her retirement, parents would still stop her on the street to thank her and wish her well.
“Many of the Malay pupils in my tuition class worked hard and had the desire to learn a new language.
“Overall, I think the programme was a success. I think we reached our goal of helping the children improve their education.
“As an educator, we must impart our knowledge to our pupils regardless of ethnicity, culture or religion. Children are the future of our country,” she said.
