Datuk Fatimah Abdullah
KUCHING: Sarawak is again hoping for a bigger allocation from the federal government under Budget 2017 to enable the state Education Department to rebuild dilapidated schools and do rewiring works on other schools.
According to Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah, 486 schools in the state have been classified to be in ‘dilapidated’ condition, while 183 have been classified as ‘very dilapidated’ that need immediate attention.
“Most of the 183 very dilapidated schools are located in rural areas. We are aware that it would cost a lot, perhaps billions. To be practical and realistic, we know that it has to be done in stages because the numbers are huge,” she said after chairing a meeting on the progress report of the ‘90:10 Policy’ at her office here yesterday.
Due to the urgency, she said 42 of the very dilapidated schools were given allocation to put up temporary buildings using the Industrialised Building System (IBS).
“IBS is a temporary measure because IBS buildings can only last for around 15 to 20 years. But that is temporary because we need it urgently.”
She said 437 schools in the state needed rewiring, as the present wiring system they had posed danger to teachers and students in the event of a short circuit.
Based on the investigation conducted by the Fire and Rescue Department, she added, four of the five school fire incidents in the state recently were due to short circuit.
She also said the state Education Department proposed the rewiring for the schools to be done in phases, with Phase 1 to be done in 110 schools next year.
“Out of the 110 schools, 51 of them will be connected to the grid. Phase 2 is expected to be implemented in 2018 involving 238 schools, while the remaining is expected to be implemented under Phase 3 and Phase 4 within the 11th Malaysia Plan (2016-2020) period.”
In view of the recent fire incidents in schools, she said the state Education Department had also requested for all schools in the state to be equipped with fire extinguishers that would cost around RM6 million.
“Some of the fire extinguishers in the schools have already expired and need to be replaced.”
Among those present during the press conference were Assistant Minister of Welfare and Community Wellbeing Dr Abdul Rahman Ismail and Assistant Minister of Early Childhood Education and Family Development Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali.