NIBONG TEBAL: The Ministry of Education (MOE) anticipates that the total cost of repairing schools and premises damaged by floods in Sabah and Sarawak will be very high.
Minister Fadhlina Sidek said that initial assessments by the ministry indicate a large number of schools and ministry premises have been affected by the recent floods.
“There are many places we never expected to flood, especially in locations that have never experienced flooding before. Some of our schools have suffered ‘total loss,’ and we are currently identifying all affected MOE premises, as well as assessing the costs involved.
“We expect the costs to be very high because initial monitoring shows that a large number of premises have been impacted. That is why I mentioned earlier that there are places we never anticipated to flood. This makes our preparation even more crucial, as we only have one week left before the school term begins,“ she told reporters after officiating the “Ceria Ke Sekolah” programmE by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) at the Nibong Tebal Parliamentary Service Centre here today.
At the event, 100 students received vouchers worth RM150 each to purchase school supplies. TNB has allocated a total of RM75,000 for students in Penang through the programme.
Commenting further, Fadhlina said that cleanup efforts are actively being carried out at flood-affected schools to ensure students can return for face-to-face learning.
She expressed hope that weather conditions would improve so that the cleaning process could be completed and schools could resume operations as scheduled as any delays in reopening could have a significant impact on students’ education.
“When we say a school has suffered ‘total loss,‘ it means that even the furniture is unusable, and the building itself is damaged, which will take some time to repair. Right now, we are conducting all necessary assessments,“ she said.
For flood-affected schools unable to reopen on time, she said online learning will be implemented and that teachers are already prepared with online learning materials and activity modules.
Since the end of last month, Sabah and Sarawak have been hit by floods. As of today, 695 individuals from 189 families remain in temporary evacuation centres (PPS) in Sabah, while in Sarawak, 3,921 people are housed in 21 PPS.
