When Mr Hanafi Asmore was teaching mathematics at East View Primary School, one of his pupils had school refusal, which is described by the Institute of Mental Health as a frequent refusal to attend school for various reasons.

It can involve mental health disorders, and differs from truancy.

Mr Hanafi, who started teaching in 1994, visited the boy frequently at home, making efforts to understand the reasons he refused to go to school and his home situation.

Bit by bit, he helped the pupil rebuild his self-esteem and motivation.

Following the Primary School Leaving Examination, the boy moved on to the Normal (Technical) stream. He eventually went to the Institute of Technical Education and then to a polytechnic.

"I learnt that students don't care about how much you know until they know how much you care," said Mr Hanafi, 52.

It is a lesson that has stayed with him as an educator, and will continue to do so, he said.

Yesterday, he was one of 40 principals who received their letters of appointment from director-general of education Wong Siew Hoong at the Appointment and Appreciation Ceremony for Principals at Shangri-La Hotel.

Mr Hanafi will head Punggol Green Primary School.

He had been principal of nearby Punggol Primary School since 2012 and was its vice-principal before that.

He said one of his priorities in the coming year is to inculcate the joy of learning in his pupils.

Recounting his experience with the pupil who had school refusal, Mr Hanafi said the boy had been unable to keep up during mathematics lessons because his way of studying was to memorise concepts instead of understanding them.

"When I made the effort to help him understand his work, he appreciated it," he said, adding that the pupil returned to thank him in person after graduating.

"I always tell my teachers that our job is not just to teach the syllabus, but to also teach the child... It has been a humbling experience."