Datuk Fatimah Abdullah
KUCHING: The Sarawak Government will continue efforts to ensure Penan children have better access to education through various initiatives, says state welfare, women and family development minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah.
She said the initiatives taken by the state government included the Comprehensive 9 (K9) School at SK Long Bedian and the pilot project for early childhood education for Penan children below seven, from five villages along the Sabah and Sarawak Petronas gas pipeline in Tutoh/Apoh area in Baram, beginning next January.
She was speaking to reporters after officiating the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) 2015–21st Century Leadership For Educational Leaders of Rural and Indigenous Schools From ASEAN Member States here today.
The programme was attended by representatives from Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia and Malaysia.
Fatimah, who is also state education exco said the three-week training for the selected 55 Penan teachers, assistants and supervisors for the project, had been completed, adding they were ready to serve in the school.
She thanked Petronas for making the project a reality for the children living in interior Baram where there was no nursery or kindergarten.
Petronas was allocating RM2.75 million for the project for five years, following which, the school would be handed over to Kemas.
Fatimah said the five villages benefiting from the Petronas corporate social responsibility project were Long Jenalong, Long Kerangan, Long Leng, Long Kawa and Long Selulong.
The Penan community in Sarawak has a population of 16,173 from 131 villages and only a few are still maintaining a nomadic lifestyle.
Most of the Penan are located around Baram (in the Miri Division) and around Belaga (in the Kapit Division). –Bernama