Sweet Ponggal gift for 400 families

Tamil school set to open this month after nearly two years of delay

JOHOR BARU: Ponggal today will be a “sweet affair” for the families of 400 students as one of the four distressed Tamil schools in the state will open by the end of the month.

SJK(T) Ladang Tebrau, which was completed and lying idle for almost two years, has been given the nod to open by local authorities with the issuance of the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC).

Parent-Teacher Association chair- man Datuk B. Balamurali described the news as a great Ponggal gift for all who had been waiting patiently for the school to open.

“Our children will be able to study in a better environment.

“Everyone is happy that this issue has finally been resolved,” he said, adding that they planned to relocate to the new school by this month.

The news was also welcomed by Datuk K.S. Balakrishnan, 74, who studied at the school in the 50s.

“My three other siblings also studied here. This is the third time the school has moved and many people have worked hard to make this a reality,” he said.

He also said the new building was much better equipped and conducive compared to his time, when it was just a wooden building.

He hoped the students would be able to use all the facilities to excel in their education.

Johor Consumerism, Human Resources and Unity Committee chairman Dr S. Ramakrishnan said he would lead a special Tamil school development committee to help resolve issues affecting these schools.

“There are presently over 12,500 pupils in 70 Tamil schools statewide. So far, we have a few schools that need to be looked at.

“With this committee comprising people from all agencies, we hope to resolve the other school problems, including future ones, as quickly as possible,” he said during a visit to SJK(T) Ladang Tebrau to witness the handing over of the CCC.

Dr Ramakrishnan said the issues affecting the school were resolved when all the parties concerned sat down together to find a solution.

The Star had previously reported that the four new Tamil schools in Johor, built at a cost of more than RM20mil, were unable to open for the new session.

The others are SJK(T) Bandar Sri Alam in Johor Baru, SJK(T) Tun Dr Ismail in Simpang Renggam and SJK(T) Ladang Niyor in Kluang.

The schools have been left idle for almost two years due to issues with the certificate of fitness, access road and utilities.