Mr. Ng is another charismatic principal of St Paul's from 89 to Year 2000. He was instrumental to improve the facilities of the school. During his tenure, he had created lots of projects to upgrade the school and St Paul's is much thankful to his sincere effort towards the well being of the institution especially it's "hard ware".
Following will be Mr Ng's message to all St Paulians.
".....There was much emphasis on the discipline and character building of students during the period when I was heading the school. Teachers were committed to motivating students and helping students realize their full potential. Academic programmes were designed to help all students, the GALUS group (weaker students but likely to pass exams) and the high achievers were given special attention. The school also excelled in co curricular activities although training at the time focused mainly on games and sports which the students were good at.
Realising the importance of parental involvement in the schooling of their children , the Parent-teacher Association was survived after years if inactivity. Prize giving days were held and parents were called to school twice to sign their children's report cards, providing opportunities for communication between teachers and parents. Examination results began to show improvement.
As the school grew and student population increased over time ,more sports and leisure activities were needed for P.E. and recreation as well as for developing the talents of students in Physical activities. The vacant land at the back of the school which was partially water logged was cleared and filled with earth to become the school field (1990-1991).basketball (1992) and Tennis Court were also built (1994) , the former with help both technical and financial ,from the basketball association as well as generous individuals who donated various construction materials. The road from the front entrance right up to the office block was overlaid with gravel (1992) while the iron gate and wall (1993) was erected with help from the Lions Club of Beaufort. Fencing around the entire school compound (1994) was put up using allocation from the State Education Dept.
Since the school was located in a low lying area with low hills bordering its back, drains filled up quickly whenever there was a heavy downpour or when the Padas River over flowed its bank. Under such circumstances, a 'flood mitigation system' was urgently needed to effectively control the flow of water and save the school from endless rounds of flooding and mud clearing not to mention the damage to school properties. Eventually, a system consisting of an electric pumps and a small metal door which could be opened and shut as and when desired was installed across a section of the drain just outside the school(once closed ,the door cut off water coming in from the drain outside while water from the drain inside was being pumped out). The overall cost was around RM10,000. Later on,an additional pump was donated by a parent . It was the most ambitious of all school projects thsu so far and it was therefore a great relief when the next flood hit the town and St Paul's flood prevention system lived up to expectations and performed superly. I heard it is still serving the school well , keeping it dry while some other parts of the town are under water.
I extent my deepest appreciation and thanks to all the teachers and support staff , the school Board, parents and students with whom I had the opportunity to work with for more then ten years. It was good team work that made things happened."
Principal (1989-2000)
Source : The Leaven Special Edition
(1958 - 2008)
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