Teo receives the development plan of the new school blocks from Mary while Wong (fifth right) and others look on.
KOTA KINABALU: St Francis Convent will be relocated to Bukit Padang as the present school block is no longer fit for occupation due to termite infestation.
St Francis Alumni president Mary Gomez led a delegation to call on the Minister of Special Tasks Datuk Teo Chee Kang here recently.
St Francis Convent, founded in 1923, is the first girls’ school in Sabah. There are currently 836 students at the school. Classes are divided into morning and afternoon sessions due to limited classrooms.
As reported by Mary, St Francis Convent is in dire need to construct a new building as the present school block is severely infested by termite and therefore is not fit for occupation.
As such, the school will be relocated to Bukit Padang where two blocks of four-storey buildings will be erected.
The new school buildings will house 22 classrooms, science laboratories and rooms for other purposes.
Preliminary construction works have commenced since December last year. The total costs of construction is estimated at RM 12 million.
St Francis Convent raised RM 4 million and is still short of RM 8 million.
Hence, ex-Franciscan and the school board will be organizing various activities to raise funds for the new school buildings.
The school also seeks financial assistance from the State Government for this development project.
Meanwhile, Teo said he would assist the school in obtaining the State Government’s allocation for the new school blocks. Also present at the courtesy call was Archbishop John Wong.