KUALA LUMPUR: At first glance, a Chinese vernacular school in Batu Kikir, Negri Sembilan, may appear just like any ordinary Chinese primary school.
However, what makes SJK (C) Chi Sin stand out from the rest this year is that all 20 pupils who registered for Year One are Malays, according to a report in Sin Chew Daily.
Of the total 66 pupils at the school, 62 are Malays while the remaining four are Chinese.
This makes SJK (C) Chi Sin a Malay-majority Chinese primary school.
According to Sin Chew Daily, the school became renowned for its cultural integration with parents joining in celebrations for all the major Chinese and Malay festivals.
Headmistress Won Kew Knew was reported saying that the school was unique in its own way with teachers put in place for a special approach to teach the Malay pupils in Chinese.
"Even the United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia or Dong Zong visited the school with researchers to identify how teachers helped the Malay students to master the Chinese language," she said.
For the past 10 years, SJK (C) Chi Sin had suffered with low enrolment, with the population only 20 pupils.
However, in recent years, Malay parents started sending their children to the school.
The school now has 20 Year One pupils, Year Two (11), Year Three (10), Year Four (12), Year Five (four) and nine pupils in Year Six.
The number of pupils increased to 66 this year from 60.
