Tzu Chi International School (TCISKL) Kuala Lumpur
Reviews & Information

There are many meetings to attend in a week. Ad hoc meetings are common. In many cases where the meeting cannot solve the problem or reach a consensus, teachers will expect to have more meetings to discuss the same matter. To be frank, most of the meetings are unnecessary as the materials can be conveyed by an email. I don’t see the point of calling teachers for meetings just to read off the slides. Teachers in this school need to undertake a lot of paperworks. Many duties that are not within the job scopes also need to be completed by the teachers. Teachers have different additional workloads to complete with a short duration given. The school also rambles and focuses on things that don't solve contemporary problems but rather to boost their ego and power trip. The school is also very concerned about the opinions of parents. The teachers are often asked to change the procedures/work patterns after the parents give their opinions. When encountering a problem, the school will not stand on the teacher's standpoint, nor will they defend the teacher. Many times, teachers do not get the respect they deserve. The school will contact the teacher day and night. It is not a surprise to be contacted at late hours (8pm/9pm) and have the work done by 8am the next morning. Occasionally, expect to be contacted while you are on medical leave. The school expects the teachers to be a blind followers. It is best that you do not have your own opinions and just support their decisions. Teachers can try to voice out your opinion but be prepared to be targeted as the higher ups are going to turn it back against you and make it your problem. They are not open-minded enough to accept feedback or opinions. Higher ups may not have adequate or up to date experience in teaching hence the lack of empathy and understanding of the teachers’ workload. To summarize: ~ Heavy workload ~ Minimum to no increment ~ Expected OT from higher ups ~ Being berated over trivial things ~ Poor communications between the higher ups ~ Disproportionate pay versus work ~ Higher ups’ personal vendetta against certain departments ~ New teachers being exploited ~ Hostile work environment (from higher ups)

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They failed it, after follow up they said they will update after a week. Finally they gave reply on 24th August 2020, stating they still kept my kid on reserve list, if they happen to get a vacancy they will update us. Disappointing, the school which supposed to teach humanistic values is not transparent and they need to diversify their intake if they stand by the name of "International" and admissions should be offered on first come first serve basis as there is nothing to judge about 4 year old kid. Also if they really want their humanistic values to be carried forwarded to all corners of society, they should take pupil from all backgrounds.

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Beautiful school, excellent facilities however I felt the teacher's pool lacks racial diversity. I'm not suggesting the need to have expats but would be nice to have a better mix of background to truly harvest the meaning of an 'international school'. That said, for the many months of online learning during the pandemic I am touched with the patience & dedication of the teachers to ensure students remained engaged. Some went above & beyond to provide extra class (subject: Mandarin) for the weaker students. Its Humanistic subject is a key differentiator for me to send my child here.

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I think it is a great school however at some point I find it overpriced. The teachers are strict enough to make students improve, some are very fun to interact with! If it wasn't because of the price I would give it a 5 star rating.

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it is big. teachers is nice. teach use responsibility.

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The humanistic education that Tzu Chi provides is like no other. Instilling good moral and humanistic values will bring them far in life, much more so than scoring excellent grades in academics.

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Excellent academic program, facilities and staff.

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Well thought syllabus, good website (informative, well-maintained), good facilities (allows good opportunities for all students), good admin (updated memo for both students and parents, polite and professional staff and teachers, well-planned activities- orientation/ briefing/ pick up/ dismissal/ online or offline), good arrangement for bookshop/ canteen/ etc. Academy, sports, music & arts, science & technology: (I need more time to know this in greater details)

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Amazing, love at first sight school campus building design. One of the main reasons for enrolling my child is the availability of an indoor swimming pool (which I reckon is still in its final stage of construction).

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It's a school that has a luxury of facilities and good ideals but perhaps should really drop the notion of being an international school. It is very much a Chinese school using an international syllabus. It's management staff in administration and academia can barely speak English and is made up of almost exclusively Chinese-educated, Chinese-speaking members of society who don't actually understand what multi-culturalism or even "international" means. If you really want your child to excel in English or bahasa Malaysia, this is most definitely not the place to send them to. The language primarily used is Mandarin with English used mostly by non-mandarin speaking staff and BM to communicate with its BM teachers. Currently it's claim of a tri-lingua school is grossly exaggerated. Perhaps in a few decades down the road when they are more open-minded, they could be an option but now is not the right time as they try figure out exactly what kind of school they want to be. It's a pity. As a new school with such noble ideals, it is amongst the most traditional in the way it views the world. It embraces very little of what makes Malaysia a beautiful melting pot of culture but is so tied to the values and vision of its Taiwanese board of governors. If you're looking to have your child mix only with the best of what one racial group can offer, have them embody the virtues of a humanistic group that defines its practice as the only right way and perhaps have intentions that they pursue a narrow path sans an education that promotes international communication on a global scale (not just China and Taiwan) , then this is definitely a place for your child! Otherwise, stay clear. Give your child the chance to be the individual she/he is meant to be.

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