Jame (walking behind the TV crew) visiting flood-hit SK Bawang, Tamparuli on Thursday.
KOTA KINABALU: All 11 schools that were closed due to floods on Wednesday have been reopened but another five were closed yesterday following fresh flooding in four districts.
State Education Director Datuk Jame Alip, when contacted last night, said the affected schools were SK Litang in Kinabatangan, SRJK (C) Sin Boon in Sipitang and SK Bawang in Tamparuli. The other two were SK Pituru and SK Kesapang in Kota Belud, he said.
“The total number of students involved is 518, together with 79 teachers,” said Jame.
“Apart from the five schools, the rest are operating as normal,” he said.
Earlier yesterday, Jame visited Sekolah Kebangsaan in Tamparuli after a block of classrooms collapsed following a mudslide yesterday.
The director said cabins would be used as temporary classrooms at the school.
He said they would be set up in an open area to enable the pupils to attend class.
Only one of the two blocks of classrooms at the school could be used following the mudslide, he told reporters after taking a look at the collapsed block.
“The state Education Department has applied to the Education Ministry for a financial allocation to build the cabins,” he said.
Jame said the mudslide occurred about 10am but the pupils attending classes at the block managed to run out after being alerted by the school guard.
However, he said the school, which has 124 pupils and 19 teachers, had to be closed temporarily to ensure stability of the area.
“As a long-term measure, the school has to be relocated as the soft ground poses a danger to the pupils,” he said.
Meanwhile, all the 80 flood evacuees from seven villages in the Sipitang district returned to their homes yesterday after the floodwaters receded.
Sipitang district officer Latip Amat said the villagers were evacuated to the Sipitang multi-purpose hall on Wednesday after Sungai Mengalong burst its banks and flooded their villages.
He said the flood operations room and the rescue agencies were continuing to monitor the situation in the district.
Enquiries can be directed to 087-821963.