Proposal meant to address severely low number of enrolment of pupils at the DS3 category school
(From right) Dr Annuar, Sudarsono, Abang Mat and Wan Fadillah looking at pictures of SK Sungai Arang after the press conference. — Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING: The State Education Department has received a proposal to relocate or merge SK Sungai Arang with other schools in the Baram district.
This was disclosed by Assistant Minister of Education and Technological Research Dr Annuar Rapaee yesterday.
He said the District Education Officer (PPD) Baram had suggested to the department to either relocate the school or merge it with other schools in the district even before The Borneo Post Adventure Team highlighted the plight of the school yesterday.
“SK Sungai Arang was built in 1962. It is located in the Baram district, an hour’s boat ride from Marudi town. It is one of the 415 schools that fall under the Dilapidated Schools (DS) 3 category.
“The PPD Baram has proposed to move the school to a new location where it is accessible by road,” he said at a press conference at his ministry’s office here yesterday.
The conference was held chiefly to respond to the front page report of The Borneo Post on Friday that carried the headline ‘School cries out for help’, stressing the urgent need for repairs.
“According to the State Education Department, the land where the school was built is an NCR (native customary right) land and there is no more room for expansion or a new block,” pointed out Dr Annuar.
He said SK Sungai Arang also fell under the low enrolment category given that the total number of students was only 53.
Of the 53 students, 39 are presently staying at the school’s hostel while the school has 14 teachers and eight support staff.
He said the department had spent RM732,000 to build three teacher’s quarters (cabin type) and RM704,000 to construct a classroom and other facilities in 2011.
In 2014, he said the department spent another RM30,000 to renovate and maintain the teacher’s quarters.
“The school even has a futsal facility,” he said, however, adding that it is not equipped with grid power supply and treated water.
At present, the school depends on power generator sets and ‘rain harvested water’.
Dr Annuar said SK Sungai Arang had been doing well in Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) examinations given that its school average grade (GPS) was better than its counterparts in the Baram district.
“The GPS for UPSR among the schools in the Baram district from 2012 to 2015 were between 2.8 and 3.29. SK Sungai Arang registered GPS 2.38 in 2015 and GPS 3.33 last year. Its academic performance is good.”
Asked whether there will be an immediate plan to upgrade the school, he said: “There are worse ones than SK Sungai Arang. I’m not saying this is not bad enough. But we will have to identify later.”
Also with him at the conference was permanent secretary to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Research
Datu Sudarsono Osman, who said the ministry had notified the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) of the concern on crocodiles encroaching the school compound.
He said the corporation would dispatch an enforcement team to the ground this weekend to look into the matter.
“If SFC feels that the crocodiles are threatening to the community there, then they (crocodiles) will be exterminated. SFC is also to recommend preventive measures for the safety of the school children there,” he added.
According to the state Education Department’s head of management service and development sector Wan Fadillah Wan Ahmad, there are eight teacher’s quarters for SK Sungai Arang.
He said the ones mentioned in the report were the three quarters which have yet to be upgraded.
“The PPD Baram informed us in 2016 that the school’s hostel is still in good condition. Out of the eight teacher’s quarters, five have been rebuilt and three are still in bad shape.
“According to the PPD, the school block itself, even though of wooden structure, is still solid and not dangerous at all. There are worse ones in the district, you should visit SK Baya Malam,” added Wan Fadillah.
Also present was state deputy Education director Abang Mat Ali.
On Thursday, The Borneo Post Adventure Team highlighted the urgent need for SK Sungai Arang to be given attention by the relevant authorities.
A female teacher was quoted as saying: “Every night, I fear for the safety of my three small children because I feel that the quarters might collapse anytime.”