HISTORY OF AN ENGLISH SCHOOL: GAN ENG SENG SCHOOL 1885-1996

Abstract

This academic exercise seeks to provide an explanation why Gan Eng Seng School lasted for about 111 years (1885-1996). Firstly, attention is paid to the reasons why Gan Eng Seng set up an English school, i.e. the Anglo Chinese Free School in 1885. This academic exercise also looks at how the school survived after Gan Eng Seng's death in 1899. In Chapter three, attention is paid to the actions of the school's trustees. The trustees were men of prominence and they handled the affairs of the school well. This enabled the school to last till the eve of World War Two. However due to the lack of funding, the school's trustees were forced to ask the government to take control of the school. The school ceased to exist during World War Two. In chapter four, emphasis is placed on the role played by PF Aroozoo in resuscitating the school after war. This academic exercise also argues that Gan Eng Seng School as we know it today has its identity shaped and formed by the principal and teachers of 1951. In the concluding chapter, the school's survival is guaranteed with the coming into office of the PAP government. As Gan Eng Seng School had always practised a policy of dual language, the school was well in tune with the new emphasis in the education policy (bilingualism) as expounded by the PAP government. This academic exercise also argues that a central theme that predominates in the school survival is that of relevance. Gan Eng Seng School has throughout it 111 years provided quality education for the different groups of people in Singapore. Furthermore, the school's willingness to transform according to the educational needs of the nation, ascertained the schools' relevance to Singapore's transformation from a British trading post to the modern progressive nation it is today.