Tzu Chi M’sia international school to be ready in 2020
Chong: It meets Education Ministry’s academic curriculum
KUALA LUMPUR: Humanitarian group and NGO Tzu Chi Malaysia is building its first international school.
The Tzu Chi International School Kuala Lumpur is scheduled for completion in 2020 and will be ready for its first intake in January that year.
It will be an extension of the group’s Da Ai (Great Love) Kindergarten, set up in Kuala Lumpur in 2007.
The school, located on a 3.1ha site in the vicinity of Residensi Bukit Jalil, will adopt the internationally recognised Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) curriculum.
Deputy Education Minister Datuk Chong Sin Woon, who performed the ground-breaking ceremony yesterday, said that besides academics, the school would focus on character development, as well as inculcating good moral and humanistic values to pave the way to success for its students.
“I believe the Tzu Chi International School Kuala Lumpur will inject a fresh wave of vitality into Malaysia’s education system,” he said.
I believe the Tzu Chi International School Kuala Lumpur will inject a fresh wave of vitality into Malaysia’s education system.
Datuk Chong Sin Woon
Chong also noted that the school met the Education Ministry’s requirements in terms of facilities and academic curriculum.
Tzu Chi KL and Selangor CEO Echo Chien said the school would start taking in local and foreign students, aged between four and 19, once completed.
“They will be attending classes in Mandarin, English and Bahasa Melayu, allowing them to be trilingual,” she said.
Humanistic lessons, she added, would be conducted as Tzi Chi’s education system emphasised character building and inculcating youths with the spirit of teamwork, life skills and wisdom.
“The construction of the school is made possible thanks to generous donations from the public,” she told reporters after the ground-breaking ceremony.
Taiwan Tzu Chi chief executive officer Dr Tsai Ping-Kun said the school aimed to produce cultivated, knowledgeable and noble young talents who would grow up to be outstanding citizens of international standard.
Thousands attended the ceremony, including Berjaya Corporation Bhd founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office deputy representative Michael S.Y. Yin and Tzu Chi Melaka and Selangor founder David Lau.
Others present were Top Glove chairman Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai, Nirvana Asia Ltd founder Tan Sri Kong Hon Kong, Mah Sing Group Bhd managing director Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum, CMY Capital Group chairman Tan Sri Chua Ma Yu, The Store Corp Bhd group managing director Tan Sri Tang Yeam Soon and TARCian Alumni Association executive advisor Tan Sri Barry Goh Ming Choon.