Some 200 students from a Chinese secondary school in Kampar, Perak were unexpectedly told to report to a nearby national school before the new term commences tomorrow.

The Form One, Two, and Four students from SMJK (C) Pei Yuan were recently instructed by the Kinta district education department to report to the newly completed SMK Sentosa.

Another Chinese secondary school in the state, SMJK (C) Yuk Kwan in Ipoh, is also facing a similar predicament.

On May 26, a total of 334 Yuk Kwan students were instructed by the district education department to transfer to SMK Pusing which is located nearby.

However, the affected students are protesting this order and said that they will remain in their original school.

Chinese newspapers today reported that most of the parents opposed the transfer as they wanted their children to remain in a Chinese school so that they could learn Mandarin.

It is learnt that the parents will hold a protest tomorrow at the school to urge the education department to respect their freedom to choose.

Under the education system, students of 'national-type' Chinese secondary schools must sit for Mandarin in the government examinations.

However, Mandarin is an optional subject at 'national' schools which uses the official Bahasa Melayu language as the teaching medium.

Students needed

When contacted, Pei Yuan school headmaster Liew Ken urged the affected students to register with the new school before challenging the transfer order.

"Only when they have registered at SMK Sentosa can they appeal to the district education department against the transfer," he said.

Asked if there is any assurance that the students can remain in their original school following an appeal, he said it depends on the authority but "it will not be a big problem".

Liew said though the students were not informed of the reason for the transfer, he believed that it was because SMK Sentosa, a 'national' school which opened recently, needed students.

"Those affected (by the transfer) are the ones staying near the new school," he said.

He added that the education department had earlier summoned headmasters from all secondary schools to a meeting which discussed how to enrol students at the new schools in the district.

However, he said he was unclear of how many new schools have been built.

No reason

According to Liew, students from another three existing 'national' schools nearby were also asked to transfer to SMK Sentosa.

Meanwhile, the honourary secretary of the Council of Perak Chinese School Committee Lim Cheng Chong said Deputy Education Minister Hon Choon Kim promised that students included in the transfer scheme could choose to stay at their respective schools.

"But there has yet to be anything in writing from the minister," Lim told malaysiakini .

He also revealed that the Yuk Kwan headmaster, whose identity could not be ascertained, was "requested to meet" the district education department officials for spilling the news about the transfer to the press.

Lim added that the affected students were not given any reason.