Students in interior happy with cleaner, comfortable toilets
TENOM: Despite being far inland, the students and staff of the Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Simpang, near Ulu Tomani, here, have been enjoying cleaner, more comfortable and brighter toilet facilities, similar to schools in town.
It takes about four hours’ journey to reach the primary school, which was established in 2000, in Tenom, a district known as the best coffee producer in Sabah, and located about 212 kilometres from Kota Kinabalu.
The school’s toilets, which were upgraded in November last year under the initiative of the Ministry of Education, brought joy to the students because they had been waiting for such a comfortable facility for a long time.
The joy of the school’s 86 pupils can be seen, as they are so excited to use the new-look toilet facilities with simple but attractive decorations. No longer problems related to water pipes and broken and faulty toilet doors which have been a complaint all this while.
Morvinly Marius, a Year Six student at the school, said that he was grateful when he saw the work to upgrade his school’s toilets completed because he and his friends could finally use the school’s toilets, which are safer and work well.
“The school toilets now are much different than before. In the past, if we went to the toilet, especially when it was raining, our clothes would get wet because there was no covered passage and the floor was slippery. But not anymore,” he told Bernama.
Also sharing the excitement is 12-year-old Evalissa Spencer, who wants her friends at the school to use the new toilets orderly to keep it clean, so that it always smells good and doesn’t get damaged quickly.
The school’s headmaster, Dr Samuing Andawai, said that he did not expect that his school would receive complete toilet facilities under the Ministry of Education (MOE) initiative.
“This is the first time that the students here can enjoy the toilet facilities as they are now. Even though they are in the interior, they can use the school’s toilet, which is better and more comfortable,” said Samuing who has been with the school for eight years.
For teacher, Datu Abdul Wahid Datu Kamaruddin, 34, the project to upgrade toilets in each school can indirectly increase students’ awareness of ethics and the value of cleanliness, because toilet cleanliness is an important element which needs to be inculcated in students.
Datu Abdul Wahid, from Kunak, also believes that primary schools, in particular, are the best place to educate the younger generation about the sense of responsibility to appreciate the public facilities provided, thus curbing the culture of vandalism.
Norazrina Abdul Razak, 39, who teaches English at the school, said that early education is very important in instilling the spirit and attitude of prioritising cleanliness, not only to guarantee one’s own health, but also the beauty of the environment.
She said that even though it was only an improvement to the school’s toilet, it clearly had a significant impact on the students, including in terms of comfort during the teaching and learning sessions, since the facility was located near the classroom.
“The toilets are cleaned daily; if they are clean then the students will feel happy when using them. The teachers also always remind students to keep the toilets clean, including at home and public toilets,” said Norazrina, from Negeri Sembilan, who has been teaching at the school for the past 10 years.
The school’s Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) president, Ruzer Palau, said that toilet cleanliness is very important because it is a reflection of the community, but also hopes that other infrastructure, such as building the school’s fence will be given attention in the future development planning.
Meanwhile, Tenom District Education Office assistant officer, Norhayati Abdul Wahab, said that the toilet repair works in all 25 schools under the maintenance and operation of the office had been completed according to the set schedule.
This includes ensuring that the upgraded school toilet facilities adopt the BMW concept - bersih (clean), menarik (attractive) and wangi (fragrant) - and achieve a five-star rating standard, she said.