Sabah Tshung Tsin Secondary School
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| Principal | Mr. Tsen Kui On |
| School Motto | In the progress strives for the progress in the ultimate good |
| School Anthem | not available |
| School type | Chinese independent high school (Malaysia) |
| Founded | 1965 |
| Founders | too many to be listed |
| Location | Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia |
| Enrollment | 3349 (as of 2005) |
| Faculty | Science and Arts |
| Campus surroundings | Urban |
| Sports Houses | Purple, Blue, Yellow, Red, Green, Pink, Orange |
Sabah Tshung Tsin Secondary School (Sekolah Menengah Tshung Tsin Sabah in Malay, 沙巴崇正中学 in Chinese) is a secondary school located in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
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[edit] History
Sabah Tshung Tsin was officially founded by the Sabah Hakka Association in 1965.
In 1967, the first permanent school building was officialised.
At the start, the school only took in students who failed to enrol into government schools, due to the fact that they failed in their 'Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah' (Primary School Leaving Examinmation, UPSR) or were overage, just to give them the chance to receive the education that they should have received earlier. In 1962, the local government made it compulsory that only students who excelled in their UPSR and were in the suitable age(13) could enrol into secondary schools. Because of that, at least 40-50% of students were unable to further their studies, and that made the people in the local Chinese community furious, due to the fact that the majority of the 40-50% of those students were Chinese. This created the push for the Chinese to start their own independent schools, and Tshung Tsin was among the schools founded.
Starting from 1968, the government decided to heighten the passing rate for the students in Primary schools, and this has seriously effected the enrolment rate for independent schools throughout Malaysia.
When the school was founded in 1965, there were 78 students who were enrolled into the school, and in the next year the school received another 670 students. However since then the number of enrolling students declined, and in 1974 there were only 24 students left studying in the school. The school was at risk of being closed down. The Sabah Hakka Association noticed the risk that the school was facing and decided to start a new management for the school. Mr. Chang Yu On, a newly appointed principal who was appointed in November 1974, was one of the changes that were made. A few professional Chinese teachers were also invited to teach in the school. Due to the Hakka Association efforts, in the next year(1975) the enrolment rate went up to 250 students for Junior One, and 60 students for the Senior One section. The school's grand entrance ceremony in 1975 changed the public's view on the school.
In the early days, the Hakka Association tried to implement improvements for the school, independent of the Government because of the discrimination of Chinese independent schools. Although under duress of such a discouraging situation, the Hakka Association were able to persevere, and by the 1980s, many improvements were made which included the building of several school structures. This included the second and third permanent classroom buildings, a building for the school administrators, a hall with a capacity of around 1000 students, a multi-purpose field, two basketball courts and a volleyball court.
In 1975, the school started classes for Senior 3 students, and for the first time participated in the government's Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM, Malaysian Education Certificate). The results which the school's students received in the public examinations in that year were good, and enrolments increased to as high as 600 students for Junior One. This is why the administrators decided to conduct an entrance examination to take in only the best students and was the starting point of Tshung Tsin's bright future.
In 19 August, 1984, a new five story building was built. A canteen was located at the ground floor, a computer lab on the second floor and the library was located on the third and fourth floor. The fifth floor was used as the teacher's hostel. But then in 1986, a new building for the teacher's hostel was built, thus ending the use of the fifth floor as a hostel.
In 1984, as the results for the Unified Examinations Certificate (UEC) of the school's students were quite encouraging, the school decided to have classes for qualified students who were planning to further their studies in universities. It was initially planned that a building was to be built in Mengattal, Sabah, but then the school lost the land which the building was planned to be built on due to the loss of the ruling party Barisan Nasional to Parti Bersatu Sabah in the 1986 state elections. In the end, the fifth floor of the five-story building was used instead. Classes officially started in January, 1987 with 152 students attending the class. The idea of this "Pre-University" class was warmly received. The method of teaching was also lauded. In the same year, students who went for the A-Level and LCCI examinations organized by the University of Cambridge garnered good results, and this has prompted the Hakka Association to raise funds to build a building specially for the "Pre-University" students. Finally, in 1989, the building was built and officially used. The Pre-University was known as "Sabah Tshung Tsin Pre-University Centre". Now, the Pre-University is known as Institut Sinaran[1]
On 4 November, 1989 the principal of the school, Mr. Chang Yu On passed away due to a heart attack. At that time, he was only 48 years old. Everyone in the state, and even the whole country, mourned the death of the principal who had contributed so much to the school. In 1991, the T.Y.T of Sabah had bestowed the title "Datuk" to Mr. Chang Yu On posthumously to remember his commitments made to the state's education.
The school administrators, after asking for the opinions of the Hakka Association, elected Mr. Liew Xuan Fook, who was the Vice-principal at that time to be the Principal, meanwhile in March, 1990 Mr. Tsen Kui On and Mr. Hiew Hoh Shin were elected the vice-principals of the school.
With the election of Mr. Liew as the principal, the results of co-curricular activities such as basketball, volleyball, choir singing, public speaking, had an obvious improvement. It was also during his time that air-conditioning was added to classrooms. The library was also expanded with a bigger catalogue of books. Even so, he decided to retire in 1996. With his retirement, Mr. Tsen Kui On was elected as principal, a post which he holds to this day. Mr Hiew continues to be the vice-principal to this day too.
With co-curricular activities being hotly promoted, a seven story "Co-curricular activity building" was built and was officialised in December 1994. The canteen was moved to this building from the original five-story building, and another two computer labs were also made there. The co-curricular activity offices were also situated on the third floor. Music rooms, Ochestra centres, photography rooms, et cetera were also built into this building.
Due to the fact that the current number of students enrolling was increasing tremendously, the Hakka Association proposed to build a new school campus in Mengattal. In 1998, the then Chief Minister of Sabah, Datuk Yong Tek Lee, approved a permit and the land title was received. 40 acres of land was given to the Hakka Association. The building which was planned to be built is costly, and fund-raising is still held even today. Phase 1 of the school's new campus is planned to be done by 2008. Currently, the building of the new campus is still on-going. [1]
[edit] Annual Events
The school holds various activities throughout an academic year. Events are listed as below:
[edit] Sports Meet
This is an event which is held yearly for three days consecutively. Students of the school, comprising of seven Houses (Red, Pink, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple), will be competing in various events, such as 100 meters, high jump, javelin, shot putt, etc. Camps are pitched next to the field, so that supporters from each house can cheer for their house.
[edit] Bazaar
The bazaar will usually be held during the sports day period. Coupons are sold by the Prefect Board of the school before the date, and on the day, there are many stalls selling various food ranging from noodles, sushi, fried ice-cream, drinks, etc. Games are also available in the hall, where students are required to use coupons to play.
[edit] Cross-Country Race
The cross country race is an annual event which is held around the period of the sports day. Every student of the school is required to participate in the event. The seven houses also compete for the first place of the race, as the result of the race will go directly into the total score of the Sports Meet.
Note: Due to the recent construction works being held in Jalan Damai, the school has decided to cancel the cross-country race for 2007 (and 2008 [to be confimed]).
[edit] Teachers' Day
Usually, during the Teachers' Day celebration, a party is held by each class to thank their respective teachers for their care and teaching. Later on, all the teachers are invited into the school hall where there are performances and entertainment for the teachers. Only one lucky teacher will be chosen to give a speech in this event.
[edit] Cultural Singing Competition
Each and every class of the school is required to join this singing competition. The categories are the male solo, female solo and choir. The finalist will be chosen to perform in a special performance, where tickets are sold to the public.
[edit] Tshung Tsin Night
Musical societies such as the Concert Band, the Chinese Orchestra Society, the Violin Club and the Sunflower Choir perform in this special performance.
[edit] Facilities and Buildings
The school has over 80 classrooms, 3 Workshops for Living Skills, 1 Field, 3 Basketball Courts, 1 Volleyball Court, 1 Air-Conditioned Library (2 stories), 4 Indoor Badminton Courts and 3 Computer Laboratories.
[edit] Current Administrators of the School
Principal : Tsen Kui On
Vice Principal : Hiew Hoh Shin
Disiplinary Master : Lai Pak Dong
Assistant Disiplinary Master: Francis Y.L. Lee
Assistant Disiplinary Master: Mary Liau
Co-Curicullar Activity Master : Y.D. Chan
Head Librarian: K.S. Chan
