How SXI Keeps Enrolment High

THE ENROLMENT RATE among Penang’s public high schools is declining,[1] but not in St. Xavier’s Institution (SXI)— the second-oldest school in Malaysia as well as the first Lasallian institution based in Asia. Walking down its bustling corridors one Friday morning, I was greeted by students in brightly coloured co-curricular attires, who smiled as they headed towards the canteen. I was there to talk to brother-director, Jason Blaikie, and board of governors’ chairman, Victor Tan, about what it was that kept SXI afloat. From these interactions, I gained the sense that the answer involved something intrinsic to the culture of this 172-year-old institution.