KUCHING: One of his priorities as chairman of the committee to discuss and address issues on the development of education in Sarawak is to look into dilapidated schools in the state, State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani said.
“As reported, the committee will look at all the school development and implementation issues and it is a normal government committee. The function is so that we will be able to resolve issues and find solutions,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.
The announcement on the establishment of the committee was made by Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, who said the committee would enable both the state and federal governments to reduce red tape pertaining to education development in the state, especially its education infrastructure, facilities and amenities.
“For example, on the construction of a new school, we (Ministry of Education) need the local authority approval and want to know how long it takes for it to be approved.
“This sort of matter will be brought to the committee,” Mahdzir said of the proposed committee.
The Chief Minister, in a written reply to Ba Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian’s question during the State Legislative Assembly sitting in November last year, said out of 1,453 schools in the state, the State Education Department had identified 1,020 schools that were in dilapidated condition or, in general, more than 30 years old.
Out of this figure, around 415 schools were in dilapidated conditions with buildings more than 50 years old, the written statement added.
The written statement, dated March 20, stated that a rough estimate to maintain, upgrade and replace these schools was around RM18 billion.
It also stated that around 20 dilapidated schools in the state were currently being upgraded using the Industrialised Building System (IBS) concept.
“The government has approved an allocation of RM366.7 million to upgrade 183 dilapidated schools using the IBS concept and this overall project is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
“Apart from that, seven full replacement projects under the Second Rolling Plan of the 10th Malaysia Plan costing RM244.28 million will also be implemented this year.” it stated.
It also stated that throughout the period of 10th Malaysia Plan (2011-2015), around RM2.5 billion was allocated for education infrastructure development throughout Sarawak.
It also noted that among the initiatives to address issues concerning dilapidated schools last year were that 22 school projects (new and full replacement) were approved and were currently in the design phase with an estimated cost of RM965 million.