Education

Sunday February 19, 2006

Looking good, feeling good

BY HARIATI AZIZAN AND TAN EE LOO

WHAT’S in a name? For the community of SMK Dato’ Onn – located smack in the middle of Jalan San Peng – a lot. Its former moniker, SMK Jalan San Peng, carried a stigma as it was in an area notorious for crime and drugs.

“That was why we pushed for a name change, from SMK Jalan San Peng to SMK Dato’ Onn. As a historical figure (Umno founder), the name of Datuk Onn Jaafar is in history textbooks and is familiar to most students.

“With the name change, we hope that students will be motivated to work hard to live up to it. It is a boost in morale for students and teachers,” says principal Ratha Jeyasingam who retired recently.

She says the proudest day in the school’s history was when, after a long deliberation, Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein approved of the school adopting his grandfather’s name, Datuk Onn. The school was renamed on July 30 last year.

Students Chen Ken Kent (left) and Chong Bing En, both 17, tidy up in front of a mirror in the school corridor. The mirrors were put up to encourage students to pay attention to grooming and image building.
“All he said was: ‘Can I be assured that you will not let my grandfather’s name be shamed?’ And I told him, ‘It’s a lifelong commitment; we will upkeep your grandfather’s name',” adds the charismatic principal, who is affectionately known around the school as Mrs Jeya.

It might seem like a very small change for most people, but a year on, the name is evoking a strong sense of identity in students and teachers alike. It has put students in another space and inspired them to better themselves, Jeya opines.

Shares teacher S. Devi: “Before I was posted to the school, I had a stereotyped image of the school, but when I started teaching there, I got a pleasant surprise because the school was so different from its notorious reputation. Everyone was really nice.

“In the past, just the mere mention of the school will send shivers down your spine.

“When I go to interschool events or education ministry conferences, and tell them where I am from, you should see their expression.”

Once they have regained their composure, she adds, they will not fail to ask, “How long have you been there? How do you survive?”

Image revamp

Devi notes, “It has never occurred to me that we could change the name of the school. Personally, I was happy – it’s like a getting a facelift. We have gotten rid of the stigma that was attached and it feels like we are in for better times.”

Jeya took over the helm of the school in 2004 and, with the help of her teachers, introduced various programmes to turn the school around.

“We took steps to improve the situation. First was to create a conducive learning environment for students. Many don’t have keceriaaan (cheerfulness or brightness) in their homes, so we try to create that in school. I, for one, am very particular about cleanliness,” she says.

This called for a paint job as well as other beautification strategies like planting trees and shrubs around the school and painting slogans around the corridors.

Next was to upgrade facilities in the school for academic as well as extra curricular purposes. They wanted to make the school “a magnet”, with interesting things to draw students back to school.

“The school is open until evening, so, we encourage students to come back for extra-curricular activities. One of our greatest achievements was to build a basketball court. We did not have enough money but a kind contractor donated money,” she shares.

Today, the school has a refurbished sepak takraw court, a library and resource centre and a fountain garden in the school.

“We would like to build a computer lab soon, but the biggest challenge is raising enough funds,” she adds.

Jeya highlights that the school has been lucky as it has been adopted by the Cheras Education Foundation (YPC).

SMK Dato’ Onn students gather together every morning at 7am sharp to read.
“The YPC chairman was kind enough to include us in his list of 32 adopted schools. One of the things that was done was setting up the library, for which the YPC donated a lot of money.”

Working hard to survive

“Money is definitely an issue for most students here,” says Jeya.

A good number of the students are from low-income families, so they either do part time work to help their families or are left to take care of themselves as their parents are too busy earning a living.

Encouraging the students to pursue higher education is not on the list of priority of most parents who only want their children to complete Form Five and then go out to work.

“We have a welfare unit in school where teachers help to raise money for the poor students’ uniforms and shoes. Even former students chip in by donating their uniforms after they leave school.

“We also try to help those who have trouble paying school fees too. Many teachers actually help students pay their fees,” Jeya says.

The former SMK Jalan San Peng was established in 1966 as an English medium school with a total of 842 students. Today, there are more than 1,100 students and 66 teachers. While the school itself was not notorious for cases of indiscipline and juvenile delinquencies, the surrounding low cost public housing area was.

In the mid-1990s, it was identified as a “problem area” by the City Hall due to the high rate of petty crime, gangsterism and drugs.

Initial surveys carried out in the area revealed that various factors had contributed to the social ills, including cramped living conditions, poverty, unemployment, lack of recreational activities and facilities, and a general feeling of apathy among the community.

In a report in The Star (Jan 12, 2005), City Narcotics Department head Asst Comm Othman Harun said that drug distribution syndicates even recruited schoolchildren and teenagers to warn them of police presence in the distribution area.

This observation was made following the arrest of 1,024 people, including syndicate heads from the San Peng flats area.

Children, purportedly as young as 13, were recuited, and given RM30 a day and a free cellphone for their “work”.

Academic quality

Steps were also taken to improve the academic achievement rate in the school.

Another problem area in the school was the language issue as more than 70% of the student population came from Chinese-speaking families.

“We decided to force students to stop speaking in their mother tongue in school on certain days – they could only use Bahasa Malaysia and English.”

Another measure taken was an attempt to instil the reading habit among students. The DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) programme was introduced and is still being implemented every day before school starts.

Explains Jeya: “Many students work to help their parents out, so they have no time to read. Most families also do not have any newspapers or books at home.

“Students come to school at 7am and read for half an hour before school starts. This is compulsory but we do make allowances for students who are unavoidably late.”

Teachers take pains to teach the students how to use the resource centre. For students studying in examination classes, YPC has introduced an extensive revision course to help them, with the help of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA).

“The structured revision helps those in their exam year a lot as many can’t afford tuition.”

These efforts have borne fruit as the SPM results for 2004 recorded a 19.4% increase in passes, showing a pass rate of 85.9% compared to the 66.5 % passes in 2003.

Fostering a good workculture

Jeya attributes the successful revamping of SMK Dato’ Onn to team work.

“It is all due to great team work and commitment. Teachers know they need to be in class and committed to their task.”

Shares teacher Devi: “Previous headmasters of the school had also contributed to the successful turnaround.

“For example, a previous principal Naim Nawi bought lots of encyclopaedias and dictionaries for our library. He also encouraged us to go for professional development courses so that we could improve themselves and share the knowledge with others.”

She adds that yet another former headmaster had made a lot of headway with problem students.

“He had such rapport with the students that he would even go down to the field and join the students in their activities,” she says.

Jeya carries on the good work laid by the previous school principals by taking time to touch base with the students.

“Whenever I see the children, I talk to them. I believe what they crave for is attention – they like to see the principal around.

“I ask teachers to lead by example and to teach the students like they are their own children. I ask them to put their children in their students’ shoes – if their children complain, would they be angry?”

The school also tries to keep close community ties.

“We work closely with parents by keeping them informed of what’s happening in the schools and getting their feedback at meetings. The parents are really happy with the school’s progress.”

To improve the quality of the school further, SMK Dato’ Onn is keen to start an alumni.

“We are trying to find old boys who can help our students, so if you are out there, please come forward,” says Jeya.

Related Stories:
No longer ‘samseng’
Fond farewell to a good leader

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