Education group to open RM55mil international school in Penang

Ideal learning environment: Abdullah (second right) having a closer look at a model of the international school after the groundbreaking ceremony. Accompanying him are (from left) Leela, Teh, Ramasamy, Collin and Ong.

GEMS Education, the world’s largest kindergarten to secondary education group, will open a RM55mil international school in Bandar Tasek Mutiara in Simpang Ampat near Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

The Gems International School of Pearl City is a project undertaken by Gems Education and its local partner Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd via its subsidiary Gems Maju Sdn Bhd.

This is Gems Education’s first international school in Malaysia.

Gems Maju Sdn Bhd chief execu- tive officer Tom Collin said the school was scheduled to open in September 2015.

“It will have an initial intake of 300 pupils from kindergarten through to Year Nine under the tutelage of 30 education professionals,” he said at the groundbreaking ceremony which was performed by former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

He said the school would cater to both local and international students from kindergarten to secondary education.

“We will offer a hybrid international and Malaysian curriculum including Bahasa Melayu, Islamic and Moral Studies, History, Art and Design, Music and Drama in a Malaysian context,” he said.

Collin said the company was also looking into building international schools in the Klang Valley, Johor Baru and in Sabah and Sarawak.

Present at the function were Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy, Gems Maju Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Alan Ong, Gems International School of Pearl City board of governors chairman Datuk Leela Mohd Ali, Tambun Indah managing director Teh Kiak Seng and Star Publications (M) Bhd executive director Tan Sri Kamal Hashim.