183 Sarawak schools are in dilapidated condition – Mahdzir
LUNDU: A total of 183 schools in Sarawak are in dilapidated condition and should be given priority either to be repaired or be replaced, said Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.
“There are three categories of schools namely the first category are satisfactory, the second one are average and the third category are those in dilapidated conditions that need to be to given priority.
“For 2017, for example, the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) together with the Chief Minister of Sarawak have discussed on ways to channel allocation and assistance for each corresponding year and decide whether to repair the building or to construct a new one (for schools in dilapidated condition),” he said.
He was speaking at a press conference after officiating the state level Guru Aktif 1Malaysia (GA1M) programme, themed ‘Teacher: The Nation’s Builder’, at Dewan Sri Pakma, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Lundu here yesterday.
Mahdzir said a total of 69 new primary and secondary schools were currently under construction statewide under the 10th Malaysia Plan and would be continued in the 11th Malaysia Plan.
Earlier in his speech, Mahdzir said he has always been kept fully informed on matters relating to the development and provision alloted because Sarawak still lagged behind many other states.
Meanwhile, Mahdzir said the Education Service Commission would continue to implement the 90:10 policy (the minimum 90 per cent of Sarawak-born teachers serving in the state while the 10 percent would be filled by teachers from Peninsular Malaysia).
He said there should not be a problem to hire Sarawak-born for courses at the Malaysian Institute of Teacher Education (IPGM) but every intake had to follow vetting process based on subject and qualification.
“We do want the candidates and certainly they will be subjected to vetting process. We have to look at the subject and qualification and if they do not possess any specific qualification, we will enrol them into IPGM,” he said. - Bernama