TAIPING: SJK (C) Poay Chee in Kuala Sangga is now a school operating without a pupil following the transfer of its only pupil to another school.

Lim Kar Seng, the school’s headmaster, said the only pupil in the school, Wong En Chi, has applied to transfer to another Chinese primary school in Taiping.

Last year, En Chi, a Year Two student, was the only pupil in the school as a Year Six pupil had just completed his studies in the school.

The school had two pupils in 2021.

The school could be shut down while the school board and the parent-teacher association have applied to relocate the school.

Lim said the school had yet to receive approval for relocation from the education ministry.

The school has been listed as “a school operating without a pupil” by the district education office.

Ooi Chee Way, secretary of the Council of Perak Chinese School Committees, said the council had been following up on the relocation of Poay Chee.

The council has discussed the plight of Poay Chee with several members of parliament in Perak, considering that it may be forced to shut down automatically without any student.

A member of parliament has agreed to arrange for a meeting with deputy education minister Lim Hui Ying.

The council started to help Poay Chee plan for relocation several years ago, and the effort has received the support of Chinese school committees in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.

A plot of land has been set aside for the school, pending approval from the ministry of education.

Poay Chee is the third Chinese primary school in Larut, Matang and Selama district without a new pupil.

The other two, SJK (C) Union in Ulu Sepetang and SJK (C) Padang Gajah in Trong, have relocated to Cyberjaya and Bandar Sri Botani in Ipoh respectively.