KANGAR:  A dedicated teacher spends extra hours teaching Malay pupils Chinese language free of charge so they pick up the language faster.

Beh Chooi Ken, a Chinese language teacher in SJK (C) Khay Beng, used to give 90 minutes of tuition every week to teach Malay pupils from year one to year five.

The number of Malay pupils in the school has increased over the years and many start learning Chinese language only in year one.

The Malay pupils also do not speak Chinese at home, thus making slow progress to grasp the language, she said.

Beh took up the suggestion by the headmistress to teach Malay pupils Chinese language in tuition class without charging fees.

Due to the increasing number of Malay pupils and the decreasing number of Chinese pupils, the school has been working hard to maintain its academic performance.

SJK (C) Khay Beng currently has a total of 54 pupils and 33 of them are Malay pupils.

The large number of pupils declined over the years as the number of Chinese pupils continued to drop, while the number of Malay pupils increased.  

Beh witnessed the school’s development over the years, from a dilapidated building short of classrooms to a school equipped with a computer lab, science room, library, music room, school hall, etc

After spending 27 years teaching Chinese language in the school, Beh retired last September.

In a ceremony, some of Beh’s pupils presented a video clip to her for her dedication.

One of the pupils said Beh has never failed to correct the pronunciation to make sure that her pupil speaks well.

(All photos are courtesy of Beh Chooi Ken)