Do not risk students’ safety, flood-hit schools reminded

0

Students being taken in a police truck to safety at a flood-hit area in the state.

KOTA KINABALU: State Education Director Datuk Jame Alip has reminded school administration in the state that the safety of students is their number one priority when dealing with the current flood situation sweeping across most parts of the west coast and interior of Sabah.

He advised school headmasters to use their own discretion and immediately close their schools in the event of a flood or imminent threat of flood, to avoid risking the safety of their students as well as parents and teachers.

“I am asking schools that are flooded to be closed and the school management must give priority to the safety of the students. Students and teachers should also not attend school if the roads leading to the schools are flooded and dangerous to use.

“It is up to the District Education Office and the school itself to make a decision whether they should close down or not based on the situation. Whatever it is, the safety of the students is the most important thing,” he said.

Jame, who was met after officiating at the Kolej Kiara Rural Education Roadshow here yesterday, also advised parents not to send their children to school if the water level in their areas has risen.

“If their village or residential area is flooded and would be too risky for their kids to commute to school, the parents should just inform the school.

“We don’t want the students going to school as the rain continues and the flood worsens. It may be difficult for them to get back home. So parents need to make sure it is safe and there is no flood threat before sending their children to school,” he said.

Meanwhile, in his speech at the launch earlier, Jame said the State Education Department fully welcomed and supported Kolej Kiara’s effort to bring awareness on higher education to students in the rural areas.

He urged other higher learning institutions to emulate the college’s effort to bring opportunity of tertiary education to the disadvantaged youths in rural areas.

“Recently, three schools from Sabah were recognized as among the best schools in the whole country. It shows that students from Sabah can compete very well at the national level. They just need more and better opportunities.

“I also hope that more colleges in Sabah will offer unique courses that meet future demand, not just courses that are also offered everywhere else. Local institutions should provide students with programmes that will make them highly employable,” he said.