TAWAU: The Ministry of Education (MoE) continues to give a high commitment to providing good school facilities throughout Sabah to ensure that the teaching and learning process can be carried out in conducive conditions.
This was evident when Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek (pix) conducted a working visit through the Parliamentary Follow-up Programme to Tawau, Kunak and Semporna recently to see for herself the need to repair dilapidated school buildings in the three districts.
According to MoE data, there are 305 reconstruction projects of dilapidated school buildings approved in Sabah to date, and the MoE is and has implemented 996 reconstruction projects of dilapidated school buildings nationwide and, of that total, 680 projects or 68.3 per cent are in Sabah and Sarawak.
One of the schools that has attracted the attention of the MoE is Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Perdana in Tanjung Batu, which has been occupying the old wooden building of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Jambatan Putih since 1997 that is dilapidated.
Concerned about the safety of the school’s students and teachers, Kalabakan Member of Parliament Datuk Andi Muhammad Suryady Bandy, who is also Tanjung Batu assemblyman, requested the immediate construction of a new SK Perdana building on a site near SMK Pasir Putih.
“The dilapidated infrastructure of the school endangers the students and we really hope that with the presence of the education minister, under the Parliamentary follow-up programme to see for herself the condition of this school, the construction and relocation of the new school is expedited.
“I understand that by December or maybe next January, the Offer Acceptance Letter will be issued to the contractor by the Sabah Public Works Department (JKR). Then it will take 18 months to complete and this will make the students, teachers and parents who have been waiting for this new school for so long happy,“ he said.
Andi Muhammad Suryady said the current school site is a reclaimed mangrove swamp, causing the school to be flooded during high tide, making it unsafe for students and teachers.
In addition to SK Perdana, the MoE is also focused on the construction of a new building for the dilapidated SMK Wakuba in Balung on a 6.07-hectare site at Batu 15, Jalan Bukit Quoin, which will have 18 classrooms, a prayer hall, open multipurpose hall, computer labs and other facilities complete with furniture and equipment.
Balung assemblyman Datuk Hamild Awang said the residents would be very happy if the construction of the school was expedited as the site and allocation had been approved and they are just awaiting the Sabah JKR to complete the school building plan.
“Once the plan is completed, there will be an open tender at the end of October, and work on the new SMK Wakuba building is most likely to commence at the beginning of next year,“ he said.
The MoE is also concerned with the problems faced by SK Pangi in Kunak district as it faces the threat of slope collapse and landslides and requires slope improvement to ensure the safety of the school’s students.
According to headmaster Saidin Banaha, the school has faced the problem for the past three years.
“It has been brought to the MoE’s attention and JKR also looked at the slope last year. We are worried about the safety of the children and teachers. The slope condition is getting worse and the block nearby (the slope) is still being used,“ he said.
Kunak assemblyman Norazlinah Arif said the MoE had given its commitment to take immediate action to address the dangerous slope condition, adding that its prompt action showed that the current Unity Government listened to the needs of the grassroots.
The MoE, through the State Education Department and the school, has taken early preventive measures by placing ‘tarpaulin sheets’ to cover the surface of the slope, setting up a temporary drainage system and placing warning signs in the area before permanent repairs to the slope locations can be implemented.
The 42-year-old SK Bangau-Bangau in Semporna, which was built between two villages on stilts namely Kampung Bangau-Bangau and Kampung Panji, is also in a state of neglect, with dilapidated buildings and no laboratory and computer facilities.
Headmaster Hassan Mat said the school, built in 1981, needs immediate repair, including the roof and wiring, which JKR has categorised as unsafe.
“There are seven or eight classes with more than 40 students but the classrooms are small. This makes it difficult to teach and learn effectively, but the teachers are doing their best. I hope they can add at least five more classrooms as well as equipping our school with a computer lab,“ he said.
Hassan said the school also needs a special class to provide facilities for the school’s 11 special needs students (SES), who currently study in regular classrooms.
“Teachers are aware that the teaching technique is a little different from teaching ordinary students, it’s just that it’s a little difficult for the teacher in a class with SES. I asked for this class in 2019, the District Education Office took action, it’s been brought to the attention of the State Education Department (JPN), there is only a technical issue (to resolve),“ he said.
Hassan said that apart from the maintenance allocation channelled by the MoE, so far non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the school’s Parent and Teacher Association (PTA) have played a key role in contributing to rehabilitating the school and providing a comfortable environment for the students.
Sabah Education director Raisin Saidin said the MoE and the Sabah Education Department have a long-term plan to relocate SK Bangau-Bangau, possibly to mainland Semporna.
However, he said this would take time and, for now, maintenance needs to be carried out to ensure that everyone in the school is safe. -Bernama
