40 Sabah schools still depend on river water
KOTA KINABALU: Out of the 1,296 primary and secondary schools in Sabah, a total of 1,094 are powered by the Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB), while 149 are powered by solar and 52 by generator sets.
Only one school, SK Matanggal in Beluran is not powered with electricity, said Sabah Education Department Director, Datuk Hajah Maimunah Suhaibul yesterday.
A total of 40 schools in Sabah are still dependent on water from the river as their water source, while 201 schools are dependent on gravity water source and 300 schools dependent on water harvested from the rain, she said.
These are some of the challenges of the education sector in Sabah, she said at a briefing on the education sector scenario in Sabah to state legislative assemblymen and parliamentarians.
Additionally, the sector is also faced with undocumented pupils, she said.
She explained that the undocumented pupils had parents who were Malaysians but failed to register their children with the National Registration Department to garner documentations for their children.
To address this issue, the State Education Department is working with the National Registration Department so that these children will be able to get their necessary documents.
Yet another challenge facing the state is the high drop out rate of school children, particularly those residing at the interiors and at islands, she said.
Fortunately, last year, the situation improved due to the establishment of hostels that houses the school children, she said.
Maimunah also spoke on the issue of teachers’ shortage in Sabah.
She said that there are districts that are facing shortage of teaching power in Sabah while some, such as Kota Kinabalu, are experiencing excess teachers.