KUCHING: SMK St Teresa advised its students sitting for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination today (Nov 7) not to move around unnecessarily but to wait at the school canteen for the examination to start.
For safety reasons, the students are cautioned not to go near the block which was damaged by fire on Oct 29.
The school hall on the first floor was destroyed in the blaze while the ground floor which housed the teachers’ room, library and music room, amongst others, was left mostly intact but is unsafe to use.
When contacted yesterday, school principal Mary John said sections of the damaged roof could still be ripped off and blown away by strong winds and rain, posing a danger to people walking near the block.
“A total of 220 students from the school will be sitting for the SPM examination this year. They will all be sitting for it in the various classrooms. I hope that they will take their personal safety seriously. They are not to move around a lot but just wait at the school canteen for the examination to begin,” she said.
In past years, the school’s SPM candidates had assembled at the school hall.
The burnt block is left untouched in its present condition to allow investigators from the insurance company to assess the damage and finalise their work, Mary explained.
Only when the insurance probe is completed will the school be able to start rebuilding the block, she said, adding that for now, even the teachers will have to put up at various classrooms because the existing teachers’ room is unsafe.
The SMK St Teresa students are among the 434,535 candidates registered nationwide for this year’s SPM examination which will end on Dec 6.
A total of 3,732 invigilating centres have been opened nationwide with 32,220 invigilators appointed.