We’ve had one foreign teacher who came in with extremely high qualifications and left after a while, taking the school’s MacBook with him (Thief!).
We’ve had some foreign qualified teachers who came and were given a place to stay and they partied every night that the neighbours said Cempaka’s foreign teachers are wild (Disgrace!). We’ve had some foreign teachers who left the house rented to them by the school, leaving behind a mess and a whole load of pornography for the cleaners to pick up (They’ve JUST left, those two. Yup take a guess! DISGUSTING!).
We’ve had a qualified foreign music teacher who openly made disgusting sexual comments about students! (I will not swear here). I can go on and on but what’s the point?

On the other hand, we have great foreign teachers who are so committed to their students that they spend extra hours after school for tutorials and additional classes. We have great foreign teachers who sacrifice their weekends to help students catch up with their subjects. We have great foreign teachers who actually ditched their old lifestyle because they want to be good examples for their students. We have great foreign teachers who inspire students to become the best they can be. These great foreign teachers are still around and they have proven that not all foreign teachers are of your sort.

So ladies and gentlemen, always look at both sides of a coin before you decide which is heads and which is tails.

"Please remove the comment ‘The real Deal’ also the one that says ‘Dustin is 100% accurate’ immediately. These were not written by me." Take these comments with a grain of salt.]

THE REAL DEAL:

I AM AN EX-CEMPAKA TEACHER: FROM THE UK, NOW IN THAILAND. I RESIGNED AFTER 1 TERM. GO FIGURE?

Its not my style to post such things but the absolute lies in Freida’s statement is annoying. So, here’s the truth. YOU WILL BE AMAZED BY HER LIES. I have my own short 1 term experience with this woman. But you probably won’t believe my verbal experiences, so never mind, lets stick to written and video evidence from the woman herself. Here goes:

QUESTION 1: Why is your staff turnover so high? Why do all teachers resign or ‘let their contracts expire’?. Think! Students, parents, how often do your teachers change? A school should retain 90% + of its staff year on year. Take CILC as an example. Its been open a short while. Question: how many different teachers have come and gone? Students, try and work it out. Count them… ask yourself is this normal? Wonderful students, wonderful facilities, good pay. So why do they all leave? I have a friend working there seeing out his contract, desperate to get away. You will hear from him soon enough.
So, since it started the CILC school has completely changed all of its teachers? Almost all? Not normal. Freida bullies, hounds, abuses and harasses teachers. Her dwarf side-kick/slave helps out to; cik Nor. BTW take a look at her face: cik nor. Look on the website, she used to be very attractive. That was until she married Cempaka and became Freida’s footstool. Look at her now. Years of mental torture and you can see it on every inch of her wretched face. She looks terrible!

OK, Freida is well known in Malaysia as a joke. A megalomaniac nutter. She bullies and bribes to silence people and get her own way. She thought she could control the internet. She was wrong. Well, she managed to control the whole Cempaka community. But not the ex-teachers.

FACTS,
1. Marketing over Education: she markets the school like crazy with curriculum interruptions such as musical performances, Maths days etc. She only cares about marketing the school and will stop at nothing till she can get her way. Any child who can bring publicity to the school through a certain skill is well liked. The opposite will be neglected.

2. Staff turnover: everybody leaves (see above). Fact.

3. Unqualified teachers: to parents and teachers; A UK curriculum school must have qualified teachers. If you are unclear what it means well it means they must have: at least a national curriculum subject degree plus a PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education) or BEd (Bachelor in Education). Please note, a teacher with a degree and masters IS NOT QUALIFIED TO TEACH IN UK. Even with a PHD they are not qualified to teach. Don’t confuse research degrees with teacher training; its totally different. When I arrived there I was the only qualified teacher with PGCE. Lets put it to the test? No teachers listed on Damansara & Cheras but we got some on CILC.
Here goes:
TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS QUALIFIED TO TEACH?
Dr Brice Bomo Doctor of Medicine, MA in Teaching, Not qualified. No national curriculum degree and no teaching certificate, an MA in teaching is not a teaching certificate; a masters is a research based program. More suited to a hospital.

Ms Norashikin Ahmad Diploma in Interior Design Not qualified to teach. No degree (diploma is equivalent to A-level in UK or Key Stage 5 to be more accurate). Not a national curriculum subject. No teaching certificate. This is a joke.

Ms Usha Jayakumar MPhil in English Literature Not qualified to teach. Has a degree in curriculum subject BUT MPhil is a research based program. No teaching certificate.

Dr Eliot Ward PhD in Immunology and Gene Therapy,
BA in Natural Not qualified to teach. Does have curriculum subject degree BUT no teaching certificate. A PHD is a research based program.

Ms Chong Mee Lin BSc in Food Studies Not qualified to teach. Degree not in national curriculum subject and no teaching certificate.

Mr G. Premasire BA in Business Administration, Not qualified to teach. No degree in Maths and no teaching certificate.

Ms Nor Zahidah BSc in Sports Science Not qualified to teach. Does have national curriculum degree BUT no teaching certificate.

Mr Scott McQuaid BA (Hons) Performing Arts Not qualified to teach. No teaching certificate.

Ms Chua Ming Chu BA in Teaching Chinese as Second Language Not qualified to teach. No teaching certificate.

Dr Martin John Poomthrasseril BA in Abnormal Psychology & Philosophy, BA in Education, MA in Philosophy, PhD in Educational Administration YES qualified to teach. AT LAST!

Dr Keith Herold
Bsc in Biological Sciences, Secondary Credential Teaching Life Sciences/Masters of Education, PhD in Chiropractic Medicine YES qualified to teach. But better suited to the medical field.

Ms Joaan Foo Pui Yan
Diploma in Music Education and Malay Language,
-Special Skills Teachers Training Institute Not qualified to teach. No degree. Diploma is not a degree.

Mr Shaharam Andalib
MBA, BA in Industrial Engineering Not qualified to teach. Teachers Maths but no Maths degree. Also no teaching certificate. MBA is a research based degree.

Ms Ash Bond
BA (Hons) Literae Humaniores Not qualified to teach. Teaches English and Art but no degree in this. No degree in national curriculum subject. No teaching qualification.

Ms Marline Poomthrasseril
BA in Education,
BSc in Physics and Chemistry, MA in English Language, YES qualified to teach. In Physics and Chemistry.

Mr Ivan Tanner BSc (Hons) Genetics Not qualified to teach. Teaches Maths but no Maths degree. No teaching certificate. No degree in national curriculum subject.

Ms Nurhidayah A. Halim BA in Malay Studies, MA in Malay Studies Not qualified to teach. No teaching certificate.

Mazuin Mohamad B.A in Sport Management Not qualified to teach. Teaches Malay but no degree in Malay. No teaching qualification.

Ms. Vilma Ambi Naboa Bachelor of Science in Music Education Not qualified to teach. Degree not suitable. Would not be classed as QTS (Qualified teacher status)

But I’m confused? On the website it states: “6. Are the teachers qualified?
Answer: The teachers are academically well qualified, with Degrees and Post-graduate
Degrees in the subjects they teach, and experienced. They have been carefully
selected for their commitment to, and interest in, education.”
http://www.cempaka.edu.my/cilc/index.php/about-cilc/faq
Wow its seems Freida has been caught out telling lies as usual. Its there for all to see.

4. What is taught in Year 7, 8, 9. This is very worrying. In all campuses no UK national curriculum is followed. And the unqualified inexperienced teachers haven’t got a clue. You simply teach what ever you like. Schemes of work not planned and assessment is not based on the national curriculum benchmark level descriptors. Assessment is terrible and inaccurate.

But I’m confused again. Has she lied again? Of course! That’s all she ever does. Look on website:
http://www.cempaka.edu.my/cilc/index.php/about-cilc/faq

4. “What syllabus does CILC run?
Answer: For the Secondary School students, CILC runs the Cambridge International
General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) curriculum which runs from Years
to 11. As for the Pre-university candidates, CILC offers the International Baccalaureate
Diploma Programme (IBDP) and the Global Assessment Certificate (GAC).”

OK very interesting. Notice there is a missing number. Done on purpose? Of course, thats what she does. She lies and misleads. Look: “curriculum which runs from Years ??? to 11”. Very clever let me fill in the blanks. The IGCSE runs from Years 10 to 11. Notice no mention of years 7, 8, 9. Thats because there is no curriculum. No UK syllabus. Nothing. This is scary. So bad.
So no mention of curriculum on Damansara or Cheras school and the CILC stuff has just been exposed by.

5. Assessment. If in Year 7,8,9 there is no curriculum then how can you assess their levels in UK curricular? Remember this is a UK style school. Parents: ask: What benchmark level is my child at for her year group in Key Stage 3? Cant imagine the answer. There is none.

Confused AGAIN. On the website she lies again. Look:
http://www.cempaka.edu.my/cilc/index.php/about-cilc/faq
“7. Will my daughter be assessed from time to time as, I understand, there is only
one major external examination, that is, the main IGCSE?
Answer: Yes, she will be continually assessed. Upon the completion of each topic in
class (in every subject) students will be given a ‘topical test’ to evaluate their grasp and understanding of the topic. At the end of each Term, students will undergo Term
Examinations to evaluate their progress in all the subjects during the Term. The results
will be known to parents on Report Card Day, where parents will meet their daughter’s subject Teachers and Personal Tutor.”

Hehehehe, more bull crap from your beloved Freida. They will have NO benchmark level attainment as the teachers teach what the hell they like. Caught you again Freida. I hope you can see the pattern. I can go on. But enough about written stuff.

I even have her lying on TV.

6. Still dont believe me? OK, lets look at TV and see her telling more lies regarding performing arts.
http://www.youtube.com/user/cempakaschool?blend=1&ob=5#p/u/200/44tHutkFYBI

Look at 1:51, Freida: “and also all the sets and everything is done by the children.. lighting everything”. HEHEHEHE Really? Sure? Complete lies again. Look at the faces of the children as they sit there knowing she is talking rubbish, very disturbing.

NEXT

Look at 5:55, the guy asks dangerous questions. Remember Freida markets the school using musicals. She will stop at nothing to get a publicity stun ridden show. She WILL even sacrifice a child’s education as long as she gets publicity. I am a Science teacher and I can sympathise with my colleague (Australian who finished his contract and left) who had students missing for up to 1 term to rehearse all day on a musical. Yes! A whole term. Watch as Freida nervously lies her way through this.

Look 6:06, another lie: “Performing Arts is part of mainstream as a compulsory subject”, not true! They don’t have performing arts in senior school curriculum at all in the Damansara and Cheras campuses. Another lie. She’s trying to cover her ass for pulling children out of lessons. Look at the stunned kids witnessing these lies. So funny.

THE BEST PART 6:36, the guy asks about how they rehearse. So many lies. They rehearse the whole day for up to a term. “NOW we are full force we spend nearly the whole day”. Notice the student saying “5/6 hours” and Freida shits herself. 7;48: “these few days full time”. Complete lie. Weeks and weeks of full time for the entire day. Ask any child (and parent) in a musical or any teacher teaching one of them. Complete lies Freida. Notice the nervous student laughs at 7:32. Nervous cos they just witnessed their leader talking absolute lies.

7. There is more, so much more… tired now… will post more later. If I was to tell all then I would need a book of space.
Parents, potential teachers and students must be aware of this evil woman. There is no smoke without fire…

"Please remove the comment ‘The real Deal’ also the one that says ‘Dustin is 100% accurate’ immediately. These were not written by me." Take these comments with a grain of salt.]

Part 3 Comments: I was hired through a phone interview by Cempaka International School. The school provided airfare for my wife, who was also hired as a teacher, but not for our children. They picked us up at the airport and took us to the grocery store and then to our apartment. The support they provided after that was minimal. They took care of my wife’s visa and mine but only set us up with their visa person to get visas for our kids. Our kids got student visas and not dependent visas and I felt the person we dealt with did not have a lot of knowledge in this area and overcharged us.

The founder and the chairman of the school make all the decisions. There are principals at the primary and secondary levels but they seem to only be able to make decisions after consulting the founder and her son. They will hire you under a contract that requires 90 WORKING DAYS until you are confirmed. This will take at least 6 months and they withhold 20% or more of your actual salary before confirmation. My confirmation took 8 months. I asked the secondary principal and HR department about it when the time came and was always told it was coming and then nothing happened.

Even though the school talks about academics in hiring you and on their web site, the founder and chairman seem much more interested in the performing arts and activities part of the school. Classes are regularly canceled, sometimes for an entire week, to accommodate rehearsal for these activities. During a 9 week span classes were canceled for the following reasons: 1/2 week for World Maths Day, 1 week Performing Arts Showcase, 1 week exam prep, 1 week term exams, 1 week Games Carnival, 2 weeks Spring Break, 1 week Sports Day rehearsal. Needless to say I was very frustrated at the lack of instruction time during this period. Classes were canceled or interrupted for similar reasons during other parts of my tenure.

Most of the local teachers are not certified teachers and are happy with the times when they are not required to teach. They fit in the classes when they can and no one seems concerned that students are not spending time in the classroom learning.

Even though I was assured in my interview of receiving support and materials, very little was provided. I asked for teacher texts and my requests went unanswered. The school only provided white board markers that I had to sign for.

There is no pay scale. Ex-pat teachers are paid much higher than local teachers, but ex-pat teachers are all paid the same. I have 20+ years experience and a masters degree and I was paid the same as an ex-pat teacher with 2 years experience and no teaching degree.

Many ex-pat teachers and local teachers leave within a year. This has been going on for some time. The founder sent out a letter to all staff after New Year’s talking about the shortcomings of ex-pat teachers and students from countries other than Malaysia. Yet the school continues to hire teachers from all over the world.

There are a few ex-pat teachers who have been there more than their initial two year contract, but this is rare. If you are looking for a school where you will have the opportunity to contribute and make a difference, you will be very disappointed with Cempaka.

"Please remove the comment ‘The real Deal’ also the one that says ‘Dustin is 100% accurate’ immediately. These were not written by me." Take these comments with a grain of salt.]

Part 2 Comments: Cempaka, while offering a first-class education to students, treats teachers like third-class citizens. There is a culture of fear which is palpable almost upon arrival, and teachers being “disciplined” in front of teachers and even students is not unheard of. The school, and the family that runs it, thrive on image more than anything else, therefore while the students excel academically, the means taken to achieve the ends are often questionable.
Not one of the board members, or the “ruling family” have any education background whatsoever, and last-minute decrees often disrupt any semblance of academic focus on campus. For instance, there are frequent and pointless assemblies, to which the “honorees” are oftentimes very late – and on top of scheduled assemblies are the last-minute emergency assemblies, which often occur right before important exams. These are often held to celebrate a birthday or some other frivolous occasion, but if Datin Frieda does not like the required performances put on by the students, she will not hesitate to humiliate them in front of the student body.
Datin Frieda is the “former chairman and mentor” of the school, and while she has passed on chairmanship to one of her sons, in reality she still runs the school with an iron fist. Nothing there happens without her say-so, and while she might appear to be charming on the surface…..Also, she has an obsession with the performing arts, which along with the image-obsession, further disrupts any academic focus on campus. Prior to the yearly box-office production, students and teachers are pulled out of classes for MONTHS to prepare. Really, they miss all their classes for months straight in order to put on a Broadway-worthy production.
The previous reviewer is correct in that teachers are usually let go at the end of their probationary period with the “lack of expected zeal” letter. They are given no notice whatsoever that their performance is lacking. Actually, to the contrary, the “Director of Studies will praise them regularly on a job well done and even give positive evaluations, just to turn around and give contrary verbal reports to the Board of Directors. And it is also correct that the last paycheck is withheld.
The teachers that are not let go often do a “runner”, disappearing over a school break (or even during the semester!) so as not to be held accountable to the severe contractual penalties. It is not uncommon for Cempaka to start new terms with an unexpected shortage of teachers. I would say that maybe 2 of 10 teachers make it through their entire contract. And that is a generous estimate. When new teachers arrive, parents beg and plead “please don’t leave, our children need some stability and teachers keep leaving”. Well, this is the culture of Cempaka.
DO NOT come to this school unless you want to worry on a daily basis about whether you have any job stability, to be handed last-minute misguided decrees about how to do your job, or be criticized for not doing things that you were never instructed to do in the first place. Cempaka is an excellent example of a dictatorial, fear-driven personality cult, which uses children and teachers as its fuel. Beware.

"Please remove the comment ‘The real Deal’ also the one that says ‘Dustin is 100% accurate’ immediately. These were not written by me." Take these comments with a grain of salt.]

REVIEW 1:
part 1 Comments: I am the writer of the above report and I am now at the end of my first semester. I feel I should update anyone reading, now that I have a much clearer picture of the school.

I stand by what I said about the schools owner Datin Freida, she is a lovely lady who without doubt cares about every child in the school. However in my last post I said that it did what it said on the “can”, well having now got deeper into the can there are some worms.

There are currently only 3 international staff at the Damansara campus, one being the so called director. The usual practice seems to be to dismiss the international staff at the end of their probationary period; I have witnessed this happen three times now. They are not given any notice and in fact one member of staff was dismissed in front of a whole school assembly. To make matters worse once you are dismissed you are not paid the last months salary and you are left to find your own air fare home, if you are unfortunate enough to be in school accommodation you will be asked to vacate within twenty four hours.

As readers may now have guessed, I have reached the end of my 90 days, and yes I have had the customary letter, we all get the same reason ‘Failure to show Zeal’ So my honest advice, give it a wide berth!