When he dropped out of school at the age of 10 to care for his mother who was suffering from depression after his father died of cancer, Muhammad Asyraf Chumino thought that he would never be able to complete his studies.
Three years later, with his mother’s encouragement and support from self-help group Mendaki, Asyraf enrolled in NorthLight School, which typically takes in students who have failed their Primary School Leaving Examination.
Today, the 22-year-old Asyraf, who is studying hotel and leisure facilities management at Singapore Polytechnic, can stand tall as one of the school’s success stories. He was one of the many NorthLight School students and alumni cited by several speakers, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, at the launch of its new campus at Towner Road yesterday.
But the road to the polytechnic was not a smooth one for Asyraf.
When he joined NorthLight, Asyraf said he had problems adjusting to his new environment after being away from school for three years.
His “turning point” came when he realised how much one of his teachers, Ms Angeline Lim, cared about him.
In his second year at the school, Asyraf recalled how he was still “more interested in playing soccer” just minutes before he was to be interviewed for a promotion to Year Three.
But Ms Lim, who was his maths teacher and had nominated him for the interview, ran to the school field and stopped the match.
“She then dragged me up to the interview. I was unkempt, perspiring in a formal shirt, and Ms Lim still had to put in a good word for me to the interviewer … I was shocked that she truly cared about me,” said Asyraf.
In his speech to mark the campus’ launch as well as NorthLight School’s 10th anniversary, Mr Lee lauded the school’s “honest, pragmatic and successful approach” as one that has value for Singapore’s education system.
“It starts off with all of us sharing a fundamental conviction, that there is something special in every child. We recognise that students all have different interests and aptitudes, (and) are determined to do the best for every child,” he said.
To date, about 1,400 students have graduated from NorthLight, of which about a third have successfully progressed to various Institute of Technical Education colleges. Fourteen have gone on to polytechnics.
Mr Paul Tan, a student in the pioneer batch which enrolled in 2007, is one of three NorthLight alumni who have graduated with polytechnic diplomas so far.
The 27-year-old, who is an associate in facilities management at Changi Airport Group, said the school helped him to overcome low self-esteem by giving him opportunities to lead and participate in community service projects.
Founding principal Chua Yen Ching said teachers in the school adopt a unique pedagogy which helps students “redefine success”.
“Success is not always academic excellence. That is just one of many definitions of success,” said Mrs Chua, who is now deputy director-general of Education at the Ministry of Education.
She recalled how a teacher, whom Mr Lee also cited in his speech, had tirelessly visited a student at his home when he was skipping school.
“Each time, she would buy him the best meal from McDonald’s and hang it on his door, hoping to see him,” Mrs Chua said.
After the 14th visit, the student was finally won over and returned to school, and graduated with a perfect grade point average.
Mrs Chua recalled with a laugh: “He told me he gave up, he didn’t understand why this teacher would care so much about him … He said it was too tiring to continue hiding.”
She noted that NorthLight teachers spend the first half an hour each day on character education to “start the day right”. “We want them to know that education is not about how much money you earn or what results you get,” Mrs Chua said.
The new campus, which started operations in January last year, is equipped with more facilities for vocational education, such as a larger pastry kitchen, new training kitchens, and more extensive retail stores.
It is also plastered with motivational posters at every corner, including one that reads: “This CCTV camera records honesty/compassion 24 hours of each day.”
Source: TODAY Online
