JC mergers a triple whammy for those who lost all their schools
SINGAPORE — In January, Mr Zulfikar Hairman’s alma mater Coral Secondary School ceased to exist after it merged with Siglap Secondary. On Thursday (April 20), he was saddened to find out that his entire schooling history will be wiped out come 2019.
His other two alma maters – Coral Primary School and Tampines Junior College (JC) – will also be merged with two other institutions.
Tampines JC will consolidate and move into Meridian JC’s campus in Pasir Ris. Coral Primary will be collapsed into White Sands Primary, also in Pasir Ris.
“I feel sad, of course. Secondary school and junior college were the years that shaped us into who we are right now. And to see our schools gone from history... It’s like I have no more identity, no sense of belonging,” said the 26-year-old air steward.
Lamenting that he would not be able to talk to his future children about his old schools the way his parents did with him, he also feared that there would be less alumni gatherings going ahead, since the campus was the best place for a large group to meet up.
Adding that there are already not that many JCs around, he was taken aback by the news which he did not expect to come “this early”. “We only hear our parents talk about their old schools that are no longer around, I did not expect that I would hear of this when I’m in my 20s,” he said.
Sharing his dismay is his former classmate, a civil servant who wanted to be known only as Ms Lin, in the same predicament.
“I was quite saddened when I saw the news that my junior college and primary school would be affected, and when I realised my secondary school had also been merged this year I was slightly taken aback,” she said.
While many say they understand the pragmatic reasons given for the mergers, the reality of losing all three, or two, of their schools is still a depressing experience.
For Mr Shawn Tiang, whose most significant school memories were forged on the soccer pitch of Serangoon JC, learning that it will combine with Anderson JC and move into Anderson’s campus come 2019 was a disheartening blow.
“The soccer pitch was where my team and I scored many goals to help our school secure a championship title for the third time in a row,” said the 26-year-old assistant project manager. His secondary school, Coral Secondary, was renamed Meridian after the merger with Siglap with the new campus at the old Coral site.
What concerns him the most is the loss of the physical campus, as the sports alumni fraternity would return every year for a tournament or homecoming gathering. And Serangoon JC has a long-established history and a large and active alumni association.
“Moving to a new campus would likely mean that all these alumni gatherings will not happen anymore,” he added. Even if the merged school has a heritage corner dedicated to his old school, it is just not the same without the old familiar landmarks bringing back those sweet memories of their bygone youth.
Still, there are others who choose not to dwell too deeply on the loss. Market researcher Bernard Benedict Chin, 26, an alumnus of Coral Secondary and Tampines JC, said: “My schools might have been merged, but what matters the most are the friendships that have been forged, which will not be affected by the merger.”
