Mutiara International Grammar School,,information plzzzz

No one

Hi Tata my husband and I really didn't like this school, buildings were old school seemed very cramped, but everyone is different, it's better for you to go and take a look for yourself at all the schools and then decide what is best for your child.

Mutiara International Grammar School is a very poor school that has all the attributes of what SHOULDN'T be allowed.  Can't have time to list the problems this school provides, suffice to say that you need to avoid this place and not touch it with a bargepole.

Thank you KL forever for your advice and response

If anybody wants to know the lowdown on this "school" will be very happy to tell you - but just avoid it like the plague.  A truly horrible place.

Met someone who was thinking of sending their daughters here. Looked round the place and was appalled at the dirt, and the tired look of the classrooms. The termite debris on the walls, stained ceilings, gaping gutters and rubbish piled in corners quickly turned them off! The music teacher in the senior school has just packed his bags and quit, despite all the words of the growth of music at the school. if music is so important, why did Ms Belinda have to leave? - she was brilliant, encouraging an orchestra, and senior choir. Why did Mr Vincent and Miss John leave when they were the best teachers in the junior school? They were not prepared to keep their mouths shut, but spoke about their misgivings over what was happening in the school - so they were asked to leave. What a farce!!

The school just splutters on from day to chaotic day - no wonder all the really good teachers are not appreciated so they leave. What is the point?

I hope that when things go wrong from now on, no one just sits and takes it but uses the parental rights that we as fee paying "customers" should have in voicing our anger, and getting the owners to realise what a rubbish place they have created. The aquaintance was seriously underwhelmed, so when will the Mutiara International Grammer School owners wake up to the fact that they cannot keep blaming others - they are ultimately responsible for the atmosphere of distrust amongst the staff and parents, and start to do the decent thing and leave themselves - then at least we can begin to have confidence that our children are in safe hands.

I've taken a look for myself once, but it's a Grammar school, like it says, and thanks to its location, it's like little Korea there! How old are your kids and what concerns you most about a school? What do you want yourself/your kids to get out of going there? These will help determine where you ultimately send them to.

A Grammar School in the proper sense is a highly academic institution - Mutiara is definately NOT.  A Grammar School ensures as challenging a curriculum as possible - Mutiara definately does not.  A Grammar School immerses its pupils in as much enrichment and pastoral activities as possible - Mutiara does not.  Calling itself a "Grammar" school does not make it one.  I want a school where the staff are qualified - most at Mutiara are not.  I want a school which has an atmosphere of enquiry and energetic intellectual investigation - Mutiara does not.  I want a school that strives to be excellent, rather than says it is ("More than a decade of excellence") - a school that shows through actions its achievements rather than spouting them and thinking that's sufficient.

I want a school in which the WHOlE school including staff and parents work together - Mutiara does not.  It is one of the worst schools I have ever visited, and what is even worse is that it has no intention of changing.  It takes people's money and goes through the motions.

As someone wrote about this "school":

Have become more and more concerned about the level of instruction at Mutiara International Grammer School. When I walk through the school, many pupils seem to be asleep or looking bored - pupils are not given proper preparation, and homework seems to be just to complete classwork. tests seem to be meaningless, except to put something in the report, and over the last few months little marking is seen. Indeed I HAVENT RECIEVED A REPORT SINCE MR SHERE LEFT. I AM TOLD THEY HAVENT BEEN SENT TO PARENTS BECAUSE THE STAFF REPORTS WERE SO BAD!!!!!!!!! That's the director of studies speaking. Why is this now seen as acceptable? When the previous Principal was here he was very quick to check on feedback, and he once brought in my daughter to look at her books - but I think it was to see what the level of marking was. Altogether i don't think this is a very driven school now - certainly compared to ISKL next door. I just dont think the staff are good enough. Science and maths and Art on the whole are good, but English and history and geography and languages are not good enough. We are now looking for a place at ISKL which is next door. This is the best example of how two schools can be so different. At ISKL my friend says that the pupils are able to do so much more, with real opportunities to lead - at mutiara its still very much teacher (poorly) led activities with little pupil involvement other than to be seen to be occupied. The teachers are not impressive except those from UK - but they wont be here for long. Some of us parents feel that the directors should be reported to the Ministry due to incompetence and we are beginning to organise a parents group to monitor the schools activities. We feel enough is enough and we are tired of the lies, hypocrisy and ethically questionable attitudes.


Mutiara is a truly horrible place, with owners who are just horrendous.  In its 14 years of existence it has gone through a huge number of Principals:

Mr Yates
Mr King
Mrs Timney (She was ok)
Dr Crowe (Very unfriendly)
Mr Shere (HE was actually very good)
Mr Fulton (Total prat)
Mr Fitzgerald (Got out asap)
Ms Swann (Bets are on that she will flee very soon)

You should be aware that this amount of haemorrhaging shows that those in charge don't allow the educationalists to do their job.  Also this problem with leadership leads to a lack of continuity.  The best teachers quickly realise the situation and leave asap, meaning the worst teachers stay.

This school is one of the worst places - with no proper investment in staff or pupils.  Avoid - and spread the word.

It is a soulless, uncaring place, with a "feel" equivalent to a Third World institution for the mentally ill.  The buildings are not fit for purpose, and neither are the owners. I wouldn't trust them to sit the right way on a toilet.

If I had to visit the school again, it would be a billion years too soon.

No-one has such a feeling of hatred towards a place unless they had a horible experience there - and my experience, my wife's, and especially my children's makes me full of hatred for a place that should make it's pupils feel it it part of the happoest days of their lives, and not what MIGS gave us and others.

hey dude, i got loads of questions since its been a long time i have heard from this school. well, basically, i studied at MIGS back at 2nd and 3rd grade during the year 2002-2004 . and during my school days as a kid, the school seemed nice back at that time. and now you're saying that it has become an awful school. but can u tell me how can i find old students from that school? its just some important matter for me. need to find someone

Interesting reading. As I have also visited the school very recently and know a number of parents who send their children to the school. I am wondering if there are two Mutiara International Grammar Schools?

My friends receive reports throughout the year. They attend regular parent evenings. The results at IGCSE level are outstanding. Students from Year 4 upwards go on educational tours often abroad and the school is a member of CIS (Council of International Schools). I cannot imagine an organization like this would allow a school described by KL Forever to become a member if it was not delivery education up to their standards.

I cannot comment on the Head of School however I believe she is still at the school.

I have to say the comments I get from my friends about the numerous activities their children are involved in makes me think it is a very good school. This is why I attended a function with them at the end of last academic year to check it out.

Maybe that is the advice for all prospective parents. Please check out a school you are interested in rather than accept blindly the advice of someone who clearly is not up to date with their information.

My children has started their schooling in Mutiara in Sept. 2013. All looks OK, there are several activities varies from Drama, sports.. And lining up for a trip for different grades above GR 4.
Moreover, there is a play by student due 9th October, and parent evening schedule by end of this term. Food offered at snak and luch is good and liked by my children who came from different culture. Even, new parents are invitees to attend lunch and judge for themselves on quality of food.

However, we still need time to report back on the quality of education and reporting, however, I noticed that students are relaxed and given time to react and understand.. All the best..

Moreover on. Mutiara school...
There are many well established local children from different races, convincing me that they have done their investigation and comparison. Not to mention that expat variety.
Further, in each class there are 18-20 students..
Due to the large number of picking-up cars in the morning and afternoon, the security team is very well trained and established to handle the traffic including the highway exit, which shoed me that there is an institution to deal with.. Tks.

HI Tata-mm

Why not try at British international school in Bandar utama .

hi all,
a bit late on this thread but i just wondered if anyone had anymore recent updates? i have a job interview there in a couple of weeks and have heard some hellish stories but they all seem quite old. Equally i'd be really interested to know if anyone has any recent teaching experience there or knows anyone that does?

Thanks

To evaluate the school look at the salary. The going rate for UK-trained teachers is minimum RM20k per month. The top schools are paying a package that is RM30k per month.

thanks Gravitas.... that makes sense... sorry to ask but are sure those figures are right? only 20k RM a month is actually quite high, i know that the likes of ISP / Garden etc pay on average around 12k plus housing. obviously if you are stating that they just pay a lot lower makes sense i guess there is no way to find out the average wage there without going to the interview.

can i ask where you found out the salary details from? thanks

Min salary is 15k nowadays, 20k at decent schools to 30k at the best.

Hi,

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I know the school very well and the pay is very low (no more than 8000-9000RM per month (before tax!), including a small housing allowance already). The school does not pay EPF (pension fund) either, which will make it nearly impossible to do any savings. The kids are absolutely lovely and it is a great starting point for an international teaching career, if you are prepared to work for a low salary. If you want a better Salary apply to schools like Garden or Tenby, as they pay what you would expect and they cover your EPF as well.

Yes, there are two parallel salary structures. Internationally hired staff in the top schools are paid a completely different package. Its important to be on the right structure. The RM15/20/30 are packages, rather than straight salary.

Thanks for this I love KL. Can I ask is that from personal experience or u know someone there? Just curiosity. It's. A shame really but I guess I will probably have to hold out and see what else comes up. My main concern is there won't be many music vacancies even with the big schools so if it's offered to I take it and hope nothing comes up after. Oh the decisions! That is a really low salary though, I just worry if it's better than nothing. I know big schools haven't advertised yet (most of them anyway).

From my limited experience, there does not seem to be much attrition of music teachers, potentially for exactly the reasons you give. But you always have your "second string to your fiddle" of being able to offer private tuition. Moving school is quite usual here and I think about 20 teachers can leave at any one time. So please dont sacrifice your opportunity because of a view about continuity (even for the children). They are resiliant anyway and the children change almost as much as the teachers, because of assignments ending etc. Keep the survivor mentality and approach KL head-on.

Thanks Gravitas. So if you were me would you hold out for the big schools over the next few months and hope there would be music positions? My friends already out there seem to think so, it's difficult though if offered a position early on (at mutiara say) to turn it down I guess. Maybe I should hope the salary is so low it's impossible to accept haha. Appreciate all the comments sorry If I sound a bit clueless just trying to make a tough decision.

Not big schools - small local schools snow pay 12-15k for ICT/Science as they cant get staff. Even Fairview pays 12k!

I only know of ELC and HELP that pay less and ELC (that I like otherwise - it has mostly local teachers and cheap) that pays 9k or so and gets European/very old western teachers.

Maybe others but I know a scattering of really bad schools that pay 12k.

For parents do the Math. Pay peanuts get desperate teachers.

In some cases old/bad or if very unlucky child molesters - I know of one headmaster in Asia that turned out to be  a convicted murderer and on the run for molesting children. Pay peanuts.....

Wow that's pretty intense! Good to know thought and I completely agree. I guess I will have to just wait and see what happens next week and go from there. Maybe I should have been a science teacher instead haha

Funnily enough fairview have been advertising for a music teacher on a million websites, I did enquire if there was still a vacancy but no one got back to me. I guess it was already filled!

Sorry to inform you, you must consider that Music is often a local teacher for most schools here except the best - who pay properly - expats too expensive. Same in middle east etc.And Music isn't considered "academic" by most parents in Asia - something to do outside of school. A Fillipino/Iranian/local can be paid less than 5k for Music (some schools get away with less than 5k anyway for non western foreigners some as low as 2.5k a month - I even met one West European working for that but not a qual teacher). That means usually Music teachers in Malaysia earn 16k+ or no job at all.

So on that basis for Music 8-9k might be worth it simply if you MUST be in Malaysia - say you have a bf/husband earning a real salary here. As an only income - and with a school like migs with its reputation? Although I note they are spending on a campus upgrade so they might be trying to improve. Otherwise join search associates and find a job anywhere - often low demand/high supply subjects have to take what they can get to earn a decent salary, Music MFL etc teachers often flirt around the world as that is the fact of life for them. Although Music is worse off than MFL (PE and PHSE are the only other ones as bad for jobs - often trailing spouses are used for PE etc).

If you are a trailing partner go for it, in the international circuit it is understood that sometimes you take what you can get, otherwise I would say you can never afford to live near MIGS on 8k and career wise a  bad move if you have any other options (you will if you have 2+ post induction experience).

Sorry for the late reply, but been so busy. Totally agree with what was said. I think finances are the main priority here, as you will also not get a car through school, hence you got to live in walking distance, which only leaves a few condominiums. They are fairly expensive if you want something decent. Unfortunately the area is not that safe either, so you got to be careful when walking to work. Several teachers have been mugged in the area. A local flat might be much cheaper, but is of poor quality and there is little security. So you would be a prime target as an expat. So as in the previous log, yes you can get by on the salary they offer, but you won't be able to save money or provide  for a family. The school is also not the true international school you might expect. Yes the kids come from a variety of countries, but as for staff, they are mostly local. Unfortunately the relationship between expats and local teachers is not always good, which is understandable, as locals only get paid peanuts. The UK curriculum is taught, but a lot of the mindset and teaching methods of local staff are very Malaysian. On the positive side the students are well behaved and eager to learn, which is reflected by their good results.

To "I love KL", Regarding yr statement that students at MIGS have good results while the teaching is very Malaysian. Is that good or bad?
I have two kids at MIGS, who joined last year, and I have no much problems with the school and teaching. I see good things like caring, security, food preparation and menus, extra activities. And in addition the good results in SAT, as in case of juniro school, where my children are.
Further, I have served with International  Organizations in 20 countries, and should say that I found in some countries like in Asia, that local staff are equal and sometimes better than our expat staff, matter which made it difficult to field international staff in these countries. So I do not believe that being an expat is the license for school to be credible. Moreover, sometimes, tourists are picked up as teacher or professional as the case in Asia, Kenya and alike...
Finally, I am satisfied with MIGS, and feel that my children are in good hand And care. Regards.

I never said that all teaching was poor and the provision for the students is mostly good. I was mainly addressing the life of expat teachers at the school, which I totally agree, some expat staff are terrible and some locals are amazing. However, the pay difference between locals and expats is so high (some local staff earn only a quarter of what an expat gets), that there are some (totally understandable) tensions. So as a new teacher do not be surprised if the first thing someone will ask is "How much do you earn?". I suppose one can live that, but it won't make you feel all warm and fuzzy. Money however is a totally different matter, as one can not live on that and provide for the future, as there is no EPF, hence one would have to send money home to continue the pension contribution in the UK. The housing allowance would not even be enough to get a safe flat in the area, which (see previous log) is obviously a key issue. So after tax, rent, bills and suppose you were to send money home for your pension, you would probably have not much to spend. Keep in mind, once you arrive you have to pay a 2.5 month deposit for your flat and 1 month rent ahead. So come in with some savings and don't expect the school to help. So to bring this topic to an end, I would say, if you are desperate to work in Malaysia and have no family to provide for, go for it and do a 2 year contract and then try to get into one bigger schools, where you get a proper salary. If not keep looking for a place that pays you, what you deserve!

Results doesn't  equal. Good teaching.

With igcse easy to spoon feed students and get good results especially if you choose only academic students using an entrance test.

Tuition centres do it all the time. Many can boast 100% AA* success rate. But when you get these students in pre U they know nothing cant do anything.

It is that factor missing in "good results"

TS2011 wrote:

To "I love KL", Regarding yr statement that students at MIGS have good results while the teaching is very Malaysian. Is that good or bad?
I have two kids at MIGS, who joined last year, and I have no much problems with the school and teaching. I see good things like caring, security, food preparation and menus, extra activities. And in addition the good results in SAT, as in case of juniro school, where my children are.
Further, I have served with International  Organizations in 20 countries, and should say that I found in some countries like in Asia, that local staff are equal and sometimes better than our expat staff, matter which made it difficult to field international staff in these countries. So I do not believe that being an expat is the license for school to be credible. Moreover, sometimes, tourists are picked up as teacher or professional as the case in Asia, Kenya and alike...
Finally, I am satisfied with MIGS, and feel that my children are in good hand And care. Regards.

I totally agree with TS2011. We shouldn't judge a school by its numbers of expat teachers and white students. Besides the hefty tuition fee, tier1 intl school is also not great if you want your kids to mingle with more local children.

I am interested in applying for a teaching job at Mutiara International Grammar School. Can I know what the teaching environment is like? What about the school principal and vision for the school?

Hi if you are a properly qualified teacher you are prob best off in a  real international school. MIGS like its peers are in effect local private crammer centres. OK if a child is already very bright and hardworking they will get A*s. But not a place where any western trained teacher would find a happy atmosphere. These types of schools only pick bright students and spoon feed them., If they look like getting less than an A they withdraw them from that subject. That gives them "good" results at IGCSE but at the expense of the children's education and future success. I know some public schools (= private schools - yes the English are mad!) in UK cram and teach by rote but for anyone who believes in educating young people that is just awful.

BTW here is my formula for evaluating IGCSE success at schools for parents and teachers.

Ask for how many in enrolled in year 11. Say 120. x10 = 1,200 entries (you can use 8 or 9).
Ask how many got A*/A excluding Malay as a foreign language. Eg they say 60% got A*A but in numbers that is 600 (excl Malay that inflate the number - no first language Malay so easy A*).

Take 600/1200 = 50% - true effective rate of A*/As. If they don't tell you walk away!

What may amaze some people is how low that % can be.............

Some schools have effective rates very low telling you they didn't enter many students/many subjects.

Thanks Nemodot...that was very helpful.