Federal government will not sideline Tamil schools, says deputy education minister

BUTTERWORTH: The federal government will not sideline Tamil schools (SJKT) in the country and provide all schools with the best learning facilities regardless of race, said Deputy Education Minister II P. Kamalanathan.
According to him, the application to form national type school will always be considered based on the need of the community from time to time by the ministry.
"In 2013, under Special Stimulus Package, 20 SJKT under the government assistance has receive allocation at least RM 20million where each school has been allocated RM1 million each," he said in his opening speech before handing out a mock cheque to SJKT Mak Mandin today.
The Tamil primary school received a RM4.14 million boost to upgrade their infrastructure.
Kamalanathan said the allocation is for the school to build a new three-storey block which will have 12 classrooms and a two-storey building that will comprise a canteen, a resource room and a health centre.
"The school's new buildings will be constructed according to specifications from the education ministry," he said.
The school was founded in 1973 and currently has 875 students with 58 teachers and staff.
When met by reporters after the event Kamalanathan said he expects the construction work to start in June this year.
"The work will commence as early as June, and will be completed in 12 to 18 months," he said.
The ceremony was officiated by MIC deputy president Datuk Seri S. Subramaniam.