Several centralised schools mooted for Serian — Manyin
SERIAN: It has been proposed that several centralised schools be built in Serian to merge the under- enrolled schools or Sekolah Kurang Murid (SKM) here.
Education, Science and Technological Research Minister Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong said the establishment of centralised schools would lead to better academic results in the rural areas.
As such, he called on parents of students to look at the bigger picture and think about the future of their children, by agreeing to the centralised schools which would see SKMs being closed and the students transferred to the centralised school.
“In the centralised school, specialist teachers (teachers dedicated to teaching one subject) are posted there, and this will improve the academic performance of the students especially in critical subjects such as Science and Mathematics.
“There will be better facilities, and there will be a competitive environment to drive and motivate the pupils to perform better,” he said when officiating at the Feast of St John Vianney and opening of St John Church extension at Kampung Krusen on Saturday night.
Based on recent news reports, there are a total of 651 schools in Sarawak with less than 150 pupils per school.
In a two- day lab conducted to look into the welfare and future
There will be better facilities, and there will be a competitive environment to drive and motivate the pupils to perform better.
plans of Sarawak’s SKM conducted last month, it was also found there are 1,004 schools with less than 300 pupils.
The optimum size of a student population is said to be 300 to 400 pupils in one primary school and 600 to 1,000 students in one secondary school.
On a related matter, Manyin who is also Tebedu assemblyman called on schools in Serian to run more programmes promoting the English language.
He said such programmes would encourage students to communicate more in English in order to improve their proficiency in the language and boost their career chances.
Manyin also announced a grant of RM20,000 under his minor rural project ( MRP) grant to St John Church, Krusen.
Also present were political secretaries to the chief minister John David Nyauh and Charles Chad Nissom, and Serian Resident Johnathan Lugoh.
Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong, Education, Science and Technological Research Minister