‘RM3 million for 4 schools affected by floods’
TATAU: Almost RM3 million has been approved for the four primary schools in Selangau and Tatau districts affected by the recent floods.
Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong announced the allocation for each school when visiting the schools yesterday.
SK Nanga Selangau would receive RM365,000, SK Nanga Kua RM937,000, SK Muput Tatau RM755,908 and SK Nanga Tau RM600,000.
Manyin said the allocations were agreed after his recent meeting with Minister of Education Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid in Putrajaya.
“The amount approved is based on the amount requested by the schools in their application. Hopefully, the allocation will come in before Gawai holidays (in June),” he said.
He added the funds are for repairs, replacement of tables, chairs, mattresses and other furniture damaged by the floods.
As for SK Nanga Tau, he said the allocation included funds to replace the water supply system.
Manyin had flown to these schools from Sibu to visit and see the condition of these schools.
He was accompanied by Assistant Minister of Education and Technological Research Dr Annuar Rapaee, the ministry’s principal assistant secretary Donald Henry Nohed, state Education Department development unit head Awang Bakhtiar Awang Seri and Major Ismail Mahedin from the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee secretariat.
In all these schools, the headmasters proposed that the schools be moved to higher ground.
They were also happy that their schools were visited by the minister.
Manyin, in his reply, said he supported the idea of moving the schools to higher ground and have new buildings so as to provide the students and teachers a place that is conducive to learning and teaching.
He noticed that the four schools he visited were in dilapidated condition.
“These funds for repairs and to buy new furniture are only for short term, because the school will be affected again when floods hit again. For the long term, we should think about building new school block. Some of the schools were built in the 1960s and remained the same without any improvement,” he said.
He added the federal government had already allocated RM1 billion under Budget 2018 to Sarawak to build new schools and repair the dilapidated ones.
For the record, a total of 1,020 schools in Sarawak are identified as dilapidated, with 415 of them critically dilapidated.