Further Comments on TIS

Please parents stand up for promises made by TIS and do not think that there other option. Go to the tribunal. Also I just become aware of a parent that held back the deposit from TIS until they got more expat teachers. He gave them 3 months and now his children are in Nexus. Obviously were are being hoodwinked by this establishment esp. the COO and R. Lloyd. I personally am all out to get them.

 

Cheers

Teacher’s comments on Tenby International School(Setia Eco Park)

School name: Tenby International School Malaysia Director’s name: Jane Kuock Dates covered: 8/ 2008 – 2011

	Evaluation 1).
	Academic integrity of school 1 Effectiveness of administration 3 Academic and disciplinary support provided 1 Director’s involvement in academics 2 Fair and equitable treatment by board and director 1 School has adequate educational materials on hand 3 Attitude of local community towards foreigners 8 Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable) 5 Satisfaction with housing 5 Community offers a variety of activities 6 Availability and quality of local health care 4 Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel 1 Extra curricular load is reasonable 1 Security / personal safety (10 = very safe in and out of school) 9
Comments: Malaysia is a wonderful country to live in, the people are so friendly welcoming and honest which only makes you wonder how an abomination such as Tenby International school can exist there, The School has 3 sites in Malaysia the biggest and their ‘flagship’ is at Setia Eco Park, this is the one I work at and would like to comment on. The school is run as a business with profit being very definitely at the top of its list and unfortunately staff and children do not even seem to be taken into consideration. To an outside observer visiting the school all appears well, new buildings that appear well equipped, but one doesn’t have to scratch far below the surface before you realize you can apply that old saying ‘fur coat and no underwear’. The school looks as though it is bristling with IT equipment with a computer in every classroom and three well equipped ICT labs. However ask the class teacher what they use their computers for and most will tell you that it is no use because the school will not buy any software. Sit down in one of the ICT labs try to gain internet access, you will have no luck, the school only has an internet connection smaller than most people have in their own home, to make things worse the children can not print their work because the printers don’t work. I certainly would not recommend that you try and take any work home with you as the system is riddled with viruses because the school will not purchase anti virus software. Then comes the DT department, again bristling with computers and machinery you might be excused for thinking how new it looks, and you would be right, it is as good as the day it was bought, because the children can not use it, again the school refusing to spend money on the necessary software. Everywhere round the school you will hear the same story, departments that can not use their resources, a huge drama studio, nothing in it, sports hall, nothing in it. The international staff most of whom have been there since it opened and are now nearing the end of their first contract are all itching to escape. Staff Moral is so low, we are bullied continuously and if you try to leave before your time the financial penalties are so severe that most can not consider it and those that do run the risk of imprisonment. There is absolutely no help with obtaining local visas or driving licenses, I myself came very close to being jailed for visa problems and one teacher was jailed for a month because the school did not process his paperwork correctly If you have children you will be offered an eighty percent discount on tuition fees, what a con, when you get there you will be hit for with a bill which will represent almost 3 months salary for each child you have, if you try and argue you will be told that this is registration and assessment fees. The education at the school is so bad that we actually withdrew our children and had to pay for them to be educated elsewhere, and no the school did not help with the expense. The school will claw back salary at every opportunity it gets, visa costs, registration fees, we were even charged an administration charge of RM 500 about 100GBP for assisting in processing our daughters student visa, what did they do for this, photo copy her passport. I could go on and on, the school pays the lowest salaries in Malaysia (substantially lower), education is rubbish, the school is badly overcrowded, break time is nonsense there is nowhere for the children to run or play. As I said at the beginning, Malaysia is a wonderful place but avoid Tenby International school at all costs. v

	Evaluation 2). 2011
	Academic integrity of school 1 Effectiveness of administration 3 Academic and disciplinary support provided 1 Director’s involvement in academics 2 Fair and equitable treatment by board and director 1 School has adequate educational materials on hand 3 Attitude of local community towards foreigners 8 Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable) 5 Satisfaction with housing 5 Community offers a variety of activities 6 Availability and quality of local health care 4 Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel 1 Extra curricular load is reasonable 1 Security / personal safety (10 = very safe in and out of school) 9
Comments: The British Curriculum is held in high esteem by the locals in Malaysia and this probably stems from the memory of the supremacy of the colonial masters. This of course begs the question does any school which claims that they “teach” the National Numeracy Curriculum and the National Literacy Curriculum do so to satisfy the hunger for British Curriculum Schools in Malaysia? My answer is a big fat NO! Imagine a school management which forces the whole of primary to “share” ONE set of Oxford Reading Tree books between Y1-Y6… That gives you an idea of what the resources are like in this school. You have parents buying and sharing with teachers in TIS Literacy workbooks and Numeracy workbooks as the TIS teachers are thrown bones by the director who is control of everything and everyone. The salary offered is laughable… Let’s face it why would we leave our native country and consider coming to teach in a Muslim country except for a damn good pay package and well sun all year around… When you look at the packages offered by some other schools, newer schools it makes you sick to realize that you have been taken for a ride! Be prepared to be bullied by the COO, Principal…oh let’s not forget, even the Secretary of TIS is a bully! Be prepared to be treated like a second class citizen…all staff who aren’t Chinese are second class citizens… Be prepared to have your hard earned professional qualifications questioned as 3/4 of the teacher staff for primary and secondary have no teaching qualification…well most of your colleagues have “online” degrees…let alone having any teaching qualifications…. Now let’s recap… Rubbish working environment, a bully for a boss…would I suggest anyone out there take up an offer in Tenby International School Setia Eco Park…the answer would be a Big fat NO!!!… v

Typical attitude of COO

What disgusting behavior witnessed by a mutual friend, after having a tribunal hearing awarded against Tenby International School. The COO was heard degrading the Tribunal President and was unceremoniously told to behave. What an example to a so called international “private chinese” school. Ha Ha !