Lui
KOTA KINABALU: More than half of the pupils in the four Chinese vernacular schools under Kota Kinabalu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KKCCCI) are non-Chinese.
KKCCCI president Datuk Michael Lui said the SJK(C) Chung Hwa Kota Kinabalu, SJK(C) Chung Hwa Likas, SJK(C) Che Hwa Kolombong and SJK(C) Hwa Shiong Putatan have a combined student population of 5,144.
Of the 5,144 pupils, he said 2,285 pupils or 44.42 percent are Chinese while the remaining 2,859 pupils or 55.58 percent are non-Chinese.
He said SJK(C) Hwa Shiong Putatan has the highest percentage of non-Chinese pupils at 89.46 percent out of its total 882 pupils, followed by In SJK(C) Chung Hwa Kota Kinabalu with 51.7 percent of the 2,145 pupils, SJK(C) Chung Hwa Likas with 46 percent of the 1,630 pupils and SJK(C) Che Hwa Kolombong with 43.33 percent out of its student population of 487.
Lui said the demographics of students at the four primary schools, particularly the composition of non-Chinese pupils, was aligned with the report released by The United Chinese Schools Teachers’ Association (Jiao Zong) which tracked the shift in student numbers from 2010 to 2021.
He said the decrease in Chinese pupils in SJKCs was due to falling birthrate among the Chinese.
Meanwhile, he said non-Chinese parents opted to enroll their children in Chinese vernacular schools because of the quality of education, access to learning Mandarin and for their children to acquire the virtue of diligence from their Chinese counterparts, which explained the growing number of bumiputera pupils in SJKCs.
“Parents will naturally select the most suitable schools for their children because education is always the priority.
“Hence, we are committed to provide quality education and build up the reputation of our schools, which in turn will attract students from different backgrounds and ensure the sustainability of the schools.”
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