Come rain or shine, the late Mr Tan Peng Hock was wholeheartedly committed to education.
Before he embarked on a decades-long teaching journey, Mr Tan’s unshakeable passion for studying began during his time as a geography undergraduate at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
“In those days, the Bukit Timah campus was experiencing many flash floods,” recounted Mr Tan’s wife, Mdm Chua Gek Choo. “His mother told him to stay home, but he insisted on going for his classes, no matter what. That was how much he loved studying at NUS.”
Thus began a lifetime dedicated to bringing this same joy of education to generations of students. Starting out as a judo coach at St Joseph’s Institution (SJI), Mr Tan soon found his true calling in the classroom as a geography teacher.
More than the subject itself, it was his constant encouragement that stayed with his students. Throughout his career across several secondary schools in Singapore, he would always remind them to keep studying.
REMEMBERING MR TAN’S IMPACT
When Mr Tan passed away in October 2025, an outpouring of love and support came flooding in.
Decades after he had taught them in secondary school, many of Mr Tan’s past students still carried his lessons with them. They arrived in throngs at the funeral to pay their respects, sharing with Mdm Chua how Mr Tan had always encouraged them to study and patiently worked with them through their schooling years.
“A few of them even came straight from the airport just to see him for the last time,” Mdm Chua said. “They kept telling me about how he was a good teacher who was very close to them.”
Touched by this tribute from his students, Mdm Chua found immense comfort in knowing her husband was loved and well-regarded by so many.
CARRYING THE LEGACY FORWARD
Before his passing, Mr Tan left a bequest to NUS through his estate. In keeping with his lifelong passion for education, the Tan Peng Hock Bursary will provide much-needed financial support for students at NUS. True to Mr Tan’s constant encouragement to his own students to “keep studying”, the Bursary will make this possible on an even greater scale.
“He made it clear in his will that he wanted to give to support students at NUS,” said Mr John Chua, Mr Tan’s brother-in-law and executor of his estate. “He believed very strongly in education—that everyone should have a chance to be educated.”
In this way, Mr Tan’s legacy of teaching lives on. From shaping countless young lives in his classrooms, his generosity and belief will now allow generations of undergraduates at NUS to experience the education that he so greatly treasured.
Just like Mr Tan, your values and beliefs can create impact for future generations. If you want to make a lasting difference through legacy giving, please email our Legacy Gifts team at legacygift@nus.edu.sg or call +65 6516 8000 to speak with us.
