Teacher In Rural Sarawak Turns Old Classroom Into A Cute Lil' Café For His Students
He said most of his students have never been to a café before.
By May Vin Ang — 17 May 2024, 04:52 PM
A dedicated teacher in rural Sarawak took it upon himself to decorate a classroom into a café to motivate his students to come to school
Muhamad Tarmizi Awang, fondly known as Cikgu Tarmizi, took to Facebook to share photos of the newly-renovated classroom and his happy students, in conjunction with Teachers' Day this week.
"From an ordinary classroom to a comfortable one. I would like to share a bit of the work done by me, a teacher in a rural school in Malaysia," he wrote.
Cikgu Tarmizi has been teaching at Sekolah Kebangsaan Kut, a primary school in Daro, Mukah since 2019.
He shared that he had used money out of his own pockets to beautify the class for a better learning environment, with the school's parent-teacher association later chipping in.
Check out the before and after photos of the classroom:
He called it "The Café Class", with the idea coming from his 32 students at the school, who wanted to know what it was like to visit a "hipster café"
"Most of my students have never been to a café because they rarely go into town, so I created this to give them a new and fun experience," he told Buletin TV3.
He added that ten teachers and school staff helped him with the project. Together, they have also continued painting and beautifying the rest of the school.
The teacher, who hails from Kuala Krai, Kelantan, said that when he was first assigned to the school, he felt compelled to do something to increase students' attendance
Besides brightening up the surroundings, he has also worked with the headmaster to introduce a garden project to the students.
"Through this programme, each student takes care of their own cabbage plant, from watering and fertilising to selling their produce.
"We did this to teach the students about responsibility, and most importantly, hope they enjoy coming to school because if they don't, their cabbage plants might die," he said.
"Alhamdulillah, with a cheerful environment and attractions like the cafe and cabbage garden, students will enjoy learning," he added.
