We all are indeed saddened by the passing of Principal Benedict L C Ng. Despite the grief, I will abide by his final words asking us not to feel sad at his funeral. I will deliver a eulogy looking at his achievements and anecdotes.
I have known Principal Ng for 43 years. Blessed by Our Father, I joined the family of Cheung Sha Wan Catholic Secondary School (CSWCSS) in 1977 and it was a great pleasure to work with Benedict who was my mentor, colleague and good friend. He wholeheartedly dedicated his life to education, tirelessly teaching and enlightening students, not expecting any fame or wealth in return. He led by example and epitomised the spirit of
“Love God, love your neighbour Mark 12:30-31” through life on life interaction with his family, students, fellow teachers, parents and alumni. He is the role model for us all.
After graduating from the University of Hong Kong, Benedict served ten years (1966-76) at St Peter’s Secondary School
[1]. Before retirement, he was principal of CSWCSS for 24 years (1976-2000), leaving a rich endowment to CSWCSS, including hardware, software, tangible and intangible assets…
During his tenure, he set up CSWCSS Students' Union, CSWCSS Alumni Association, Parent-Teacher Association, bringing together all stakeholders
[2],
[3],
[4]. United we are all stronger.
Benedict was a man of vision and a leader. He had established many pilot schemes and canvassed extra resources for CSWCSS. For example, as early as in 1988, he placed CSWCSS among the first schools in Hong Kong to partake in the Native English-speaking Teachers NET Pilot Scheme by recruiting two additional native English-speaking teachers
[5]. In 1997, to facilitate the development of Moral and Religious Education Curriculum, three schools in the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong joined forces to fund, at our own costs, the appointment of a lay Catholic as pastoral care assistant. In addition to CSWCSS, the other two schools were Choi Hung Estate Catholic Secondary School and Raimondi College. Our students thus had better access to a dedicated pastoral worker who guided them to contemplate life, learn to be considerate and participate more in voluntary works demonstrating a spirit of care and service
[6].
In addition, Benedict successfully leveraged the strength of CSWCSS in 25 laps (7 Km) long distance running
[7] to raise funds to build a language lab (now a multimedia language lab) and to install air-conditioning in the school hall.
In 1999, he facilitated the application for Hong Kong Quality Education Fund which afforded us a Marching Band and a Physical Fitness Room
[8].
Benedict was very hands on and resolute in what he believes is good. An example is his efforts to write the lyrics for the School Hymn of CSWCSS in 1980. The lyrics are precise and succinct, leaving a deep impression on each and every CSWCSS members
[9] [10]. Led by Benedict, CSWCSS succeeded in keeping English as the Medium of Instruction (EMI)in 1998
[11]. He was devoted to creating a bi-literal and tri-lingual learning environment (Chinese, English and Putonghua). He insisted that English subject teachers use only English as the medium of instruction in classes and always communicate with students in English inside and outside of the classrooms. To promote Putonghua, he and Ms Alice Lai led by example to enroll as students in the Education Department’s Putonghua course. He turned studies into a fun activity by singing to learn Putonghua. He and two teachers once demonstrated their Putonghua skills with delightful songs at the morning assembly. On top of all these, he also organised Putonghua courses for our teachers.
After retirement, Benedict lived an even richer life. He volunteered to teach CSWCSS’ English Enrichment Class and was appointed by the HK Education Department to run the ESL in the Mainstream Teacher Development Certificate Course
[12].
In his last 20 years, he industriously travelled to the mainland donating his time and expertise teaching English in his home town. He also ventured afar to remote regions to train English subject teachers, rebuilt dilapidated schools and funded education for students in extreme poverty.
Benedict had a very charming sense of humor making him very popular. To help train English subject teachers in remote regions in China, he founded the English Teachers Training Program (ETTP) and acted as program consultant and leader. The title printed on his name card was VIP. Jocularly he called himself a VIP – not a Very Important Person but a Very Insignificant Potato. He introduced himself as “Ben” to these teacher trainees and some addressed him the Putonghua way as “bèn” which means “stupid”. Instead of being displeased, he took this as an opportunity to teach English pronunciation. Many English teacher trainers/tutors from Hong Kong, mainland China, the UK, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and many more gravitated towards ETTP, all attributable to Benedict’s charisma. These volunteers join hands to serve in a happy and soaring spirit and this is one of the highlights of Benedict’s life.
In his final months, Benedict still cared about CSWCSS students a lot. He kept donating to the school for setting up scholarships to help and inspire students to strive to better themselves.
In sum, Principal Benedict LC Ng was a true life-long learner and educator. Without Benedict’s dedication, CSWCSS would not have gained the recognition as a much-loved English secondary school among all sectors in Hong Kong society. Through the work of Benedict, our school motto “Self-Strengthening and Continuous Improvement” is deeply etched in the minds of all students and alumni.
Principal Benedict LC Ng now lives in our hearts.
presented at the Funeral Mass
held at Mother of Good Counsel Church on 20th March 2021
Edited by Susanne Ng
English version translated by Cecilia Chiu
[1] After graduating from the University of Hong Kong, Principal Benedict LC Ng immediately joined St Peter’s Secondary School (1966-76) as an English teacher for senior classes cum Discipline Master.
[2] CSWCSS Students' Union was established in 1976.
[3] CSWCSS Alumni Association was established in 1982.
[4] CSWCSS Parent-Teacher Association was established in 1997.
[5] CSWCSS was among the first schools to partake in the Native English-speaking Teachers NETs Pilot Scheme in 1988. Two additional expatriate teachers were employed.
[6] In 1997 to facilitate the development of Moral and Religious Education Curriculum, three schools in the Catholic Diocese of HongKong – CSWCSS, Choi Hung Estate Catholic Secondary School and Raimondi College – joined forces to fund at their own costs the appointment of a lay Catholic as pastoral care assistant. The students thus had better access to a dedicated pastoral worker who guided them to contemplate life, learn to be considerate and participate more in voluntary works demonstrating a spirit of care and service. The pastoral care assistant position has now evolved to become a full time position titled Pastoral Worker in 27 schools in the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong.
[7] 25 laps (7 km) long distance running along the running track inside the school campus has been a tradition and part of the Physical Education curriculum in CSWCSS. Students attending CSWCSS have to undergo the 25-laps long-distance running test every year.
[8] In 1999, Benedict’s application for the QE fund was successful to establish CSWCSS Marching Band. In the same year, Benedict facilitated the application to the QE Fund for setting up a Physical Fitness Room with added physical fitness equipment.
[9] 1980 Benedict invited music teacher Ms Josephine Wong to compose a School Hymn in English and a Sports Song in Putonghua. The lyrics of the School Hymn are Benedict’s own work while Chinese subject teacher Mr Chi Kwan Yeung wrote the lyrics for the Sports Song.
[10] School Hymn of Cheung Sha Wan Catholic Secondary School LYRICS
In this forest of concrete, there is a lovely place
A haven from the urban crowd, where I spend my golden days
Here lifelong friends are made, together we run the race
Amidst the bustling city din, quietly I find my ways
Every day in the misty morn, refreshed am I with His grace
Carefree days may long be gone
In my heart Cheung Sha Wan stays. [11] In 1998 , CSWCSS, led by Benedict, succeeded in keeping English as the Mediumon Instruction (EMI) and became one of the 114 EMI schools in HK.
[12] In 2000, Benedict was appointed by the Hong Kong Education Department to run the ESL in the Mainstream Teacher Development Certificate Course targeting at English subject teachers.