Company’s gift for school
TEACHERS and pupils at an orang asli school in Terengganu will soon be offered relief from their severely cramped classrooms. This came following an announcement that Tanjung Offshore Bhd (TOB), an oil and gas company with diversified interests in education and property, will be donating a building with four classrooms to SK Sungai Berua, which is 43km from Kuala Terengganu.
At a recent ceremony last week, Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said: “TOB has set an example on how the private sector can play a part in helping the Government improve education in the country.”
Expressing his gratitude at the company’s generosity, he added that such initiatives make a huge difference to the schoolchildren.
Mahdzir said that the ministry had always taken care of the orang asli community, and will do its best to help them further.
The school built in 1974, is one of the two national orang asli schools in the state. There aren’t enough classrooms for its 100 pupils.
TOB chairman Datuk Dr Nik Nozrul Thani Nik Hassan Thani said the company is more than happy to support the government in helping the orang asli.
“TOB hopes the building can provide a good learning environment that motivates pupils to continue with their studies, and for the teachers to continue to do a good job,” he said, pointing out that the pupils now had to squeeze into tiny rooms, while teachers had to use the canteen as their office.
“We believe that every pupil deserves a chance to make their dreams come true and to succeed in life, no matter what their backgrounds are,” he said, adding that the company will also be donating 100 pairs of shoes and bags to the pupils to ease their families’ financial burden.
The company’s executive deputy chairman Tan Sri Tan Kean Soon said that the donation is a fitting tribute to the committed and dedicated teachers stationed in the rural area.
“The construction of the one-storey building, which is set to begin next month and is expected to be completed by early next year, costs roughly RM200,000.
“The construction will follow strictly the Education Ministry’s specifications and rules,” he said, adding that the building is located at the same place as the current school.
Education secretary-general Datuk Seri Alias Ahmad, director-general Tan Sri Dr Khair Mohamad Yusof, and Terengganu state education department director Shafruddin Ali Hussin was also present at the ceremony.