Tzu Chi International School KL to welcome 600 students in 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: The Tzu Chi International School KL (TCISKL) is expected to welcome 600 students when it officially opens its doors in 2020 following its groundbreaking ceremony held at the 3.1ha site of its campus at Bukit Jalil, here, today.
The elaborate ceremony which saw the participation of over 5,000 people was attended by Deputy Education Minister Senator Datuk Chong Sin Woon, Taiwan Tzu Chi Education Mission CEO Dr Tsai Ping-Kun, Tzu KL & Selangor and Tzu Chi Malaysia Education Foundation CEO Echo Chien, Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp) founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan, Top Glove Corp Bhd chairman Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai, Nirvana Asia Group founder Tan Sri Kong Hon Kong and Mah Sing group managing director Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum among others.
Expressing confidence in Tzu Chi's education system, Chong said the international school which is under the Tzu Chi Malaysia Education Foundation was approved by the Education Ministry on March 18, 2016.
"The system based on the teachings from the Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation will not only emphasise on academic results but overall humanitarian values as well," he said during his speech at the groundbreaking ceremony.
Chong said the school which met the ministry's requirements is open to all Malaysians regardless of race and religion.
Meanwhile, Echo said the latest endeavour by Tzu Chi in the country is their biggest milestone by far.
"In 2007, we had opened our first kindergarten in Kepong followed by our second one in Pandan Jaya.
"TCISKL is a big leap in our education frontier where we are opened to kindergarten, primary and secondary education. As we are a non-profit organisation, our fees will be much cheaper compared to other international schools," she told reporters.
Echo added that the school which is going to be a green-building will be able to accommodate up to 3,500 students in the future.
Stamping his approval for the project, Tan said he was impressed with the proposal by Tzu Chi to set up an international school which will emphasise on three languages equally namely Mandarin, English and Bahasa Malaysia.
"The unique thing about TCISKL is while they adopt the recognised Cambridge IGCSE curriculum in their school lessons, school students will also be inculcated with humanistic lessons associated with Tzu Chi foundation and that they should be blessed to be able to study here.
"As such, the Berjaya Group as well as myself endorse such efforts and have pledged to support them financially," he added.
Being a Taiwan-based Buddhist group, Tzu Chi was founded by a Buddhist nun Shih Cheng Yen or widely known as Dharma Master Cheng Yen, who realised that little could be done without an organisation.
In 1966, she set up the Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, which means the Buddhist compassion and relief foundation, to do the humanitarian work in a more organised way.
In Malaysia, the Tzu Chi teaching was brought by Sister Ye Ci Qing in 1989, when she went to the local Buddhist temples in Penang to spread the philosophy of Tzu Chi.
The Tzu Chi Malaysia liaison office was officially set up in Penang in June 1993 and subsequently in other states.
Malaysia is reportedly said to have the largest following of Tzu Chi outside of Taiwan and has worked with various groups and communities here to reach out to the needy including the indigenous, Tamil schools and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
In addition to engaging communities through the fields of medicine and education, it has provided aid in cash to people in 68 countries around the world.
Its international relief work carried out since 1991 at disaster-struck areas and refugee camps has also won worldwide recognition, including from the United Nations.