Rep wants SK Serumbu rebuilt using state fund

KUCHING: It is hoped that SK Serumbu at Jalan Tanjung Durian in Bau, will be included in the list of schools to be rebuilt with allocation under the Sarawak Budget 2019.

Serembu assemblyman Miro Simuh said the school, which accommodates pupils from Kopit, Sega, Peninjau Lama, Peninjau Baru, Siniawan Bazaar, Taman Siniawan and children of quarry workers in the area, is already in a dilapidated state.

He said the proposed 12classroom school had been approved by the previous government, but he was unsure if the present federal government would proceed with the funding and implementation.

“Anyway, I will submit the proposed plan to rebuild the school ( SK Serumbu) to the Minister of Education, Science and Technology Research Dato Sri Michael Manyin next month so that it (school) can be rebuilt with the fund from the state.

“I hope the minister would look into the proposal favourably so that the pupils can have an environment that is conducive for learning,” he said when contacted yesterday.

Miro said the school, which was built in 1953, was constructed of wood before bricks were laid out on parts of the classroom walls.

He added that the roof is already leaking in several places, and the school categorised as one of dilapidated schools in Sarawak.

There is also a need to increase the number of classrooms from the present six to 12 because of the increasing number of pupils every year, he added.

“Even now, the classrooms are already congested, with over 40 pupils in each,” he said, adding that RM2.5 million would be needed to build a new concrete 12- classroom school.

He hoped that the Sarawak government would put aside some allocations for the construction of the proposed new SK Serumbu.

When tabling Sarawak Budget 2019 in November, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said RM81.7 million would be allocated to rebuild, repair and upgrade dilapidated schools, including providing water and electricity supplies, in Sarawak.