By Jane Ng

XINMIN Secondary students may not be aware, but their founding principal had to sell five of his family's pigs to raise money to build the school in 1945.

Mr Ye Fanfeng got 1,200 Straits Settlement dollars from the sale, but still had to raise another 800 to start the school.

Even though Mr Ye, 95, now lives in China, alumni from the Hougang school hope this piece of history will not be forgotten by its students.

It is one of 20 schools that will showcase their past in the first joint exhibition by Chinese-medium schools in Singapore and Malaysia.

Organised by alumni, the exhibition will be held over seven days from Nov 29 at Hwa Chong Institution in Bukit Timah. It will include relics like old school uniforms, report cards and stationery.

The idea was mooted by Prof K.K. Phua, chairman of World Scientific Publishing. The Yangzheng School alumnus said many alumni associations wanted to catalogue their schools' history, so it was a logical step to hold a joint exhibition.

'The main aim is to tell younger Singaporeans about the history of our education system. Most students have superficial knowledge of history. Those of us with some historical knowledge have a lot to do to educate them,' he said.

Detailing that history, he said there were over 100 Chinese-medium schools in the 1960s. Some of these schools were the forerunners of the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools - a scheme introduced nearly 30 years ago to develop students with a firm grasp of English and Chinese.

While Higher Mother Tongue classes have since been extended to other schools, many SAP schools still preserve their roots by observing Chinese rites such as the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The alumni believe that youth could benefit from an appreciation of their schools' humble beginnings.

Dr Chua Seng Kiat, an Ai Tong School alumnus, said many principals in the past had a tough time setting up schools.

'Many principals had to double up as school gardeners or cleaners. How many of our pupils know this?' he said.

The schools involved in the exhibition include Zhonghua Secondary, North Vista Secondary and River Valley High.

Chinese schools from Malaysia are also participating, including Pay Fong School in Malacca, Chung Ling High in Penang and Foon Yew High in Johor.

There will also be a series of seminars. The topics include the history of overseas Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia.

The exhibition will feature performances by Dunman High's Chinese Orchestra and choirs and dance groups from other schools.

janeng@sph.com.sg

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