8 November 2006, Straits Times

Intensely private, tycoon Khoo Teck Puat had refused to be acknowledged for his numerous donations when he was alive. It was only after his death that his generosity came to be disclosed.

One such occasion was yesterday, when a donation of $5 million was made to St Joseph’s Institution (International) by the banking and hotel magnate’s estate.

With this latest donation, the newest privately funded school under the Ministry of Education (MOE) will open in January with $9 million set aside for scholarships.

An old boy of St Joseph’s Institution (SJI), the late Mr Khoo – who died in 2004, aged 86, as Singapore’s richest man then – had always supported his alma mater.

Said his daughter, Mrs Mavis Oei, who presented the donation to Brother Michael Broughton, Brother President of SJI (International): “It is the hope of the family that through such a donation, the spirit of giving and helping those in need continues even after his death.”

The Khoo family is Singapore’s richest with an estimated wealth of US$5 billion (S$7.8 billion), according to finance magazine Forbes this year. One of the late Mr Khoo’s children is movie maker Eric Khoo.

The new co-educational school, located in Thomson Road next to the SLF Building, will have a first batch of about 150 students from Grade 7 to 9 (equivalent to Secondary 1 to 3 ) next year.

Fees are $15,000 a year, similar to what the two other privately funded schools - Anglo-Chinese School (International) and Hwa Chong International – charge.

Students in independent schools pay about $3,000 a year while those in mainstream secondary schools pay about $300.

But though the privately funded schools charge more, they enjoy greater flexibility in their curriculums and programmes, while abiding by certain MOE policies.

Dr Tony Tan, chairman of the National Research Foundation Board and an SJI old boy and patron of the SJI International Leadership Council, lauded such diversity in the education landscape.

Speaking at the donation presentation ceremony at Goodwood Park Hotel, he said: “We are moving away from the ‘one size fits all’ approach, so as to cater to the different needs and talents of our young people.”

“In this regard, privately funded schools like SJI (International) are welcome additions to our system, and they will compliment the mainstream, state-sponsored schools.”

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