The flooded compound of SK Rumah Keseng on Wednesday.
Flood forces 19 schools in Sarawak to close and situation still uncertain despite water subsiding
KUCHING: Floods caused by incessant rain forced the closure of 19 schools in the state when the new school term began yesterday.
Out of the 19 schools, 12 are in Sibu area, three in Selangau and one in Bintulu, Dalat, Meradong and Subis were closed.
As of 10 am, 29 schools were hit by flood but only nine of them were closed as the rest continued to operate as usual despite the flood.
Another 10 schools though not flooded were closed because the road leading to them were cut off by flood water.
According to Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah, the schools which failed to open yesterday were mostly primary schools. Only two secondary schools, SMK Kwong Hua and SMK Sg Merah in Sibu were closed.
The flood situation improved later in the afternoon at 3 pm, State Disaster Relief Committee reported that the number of school closed had been reduced from 19 to 13.
Fatimah who visited SK Jebungan of Mukah yesterday said, “In this unpredictable weather, school principals and teachers had to improvise to find ways for the students to continue their lessons.
“I visited SK Jebungan this morning and was very impressed by the school’s way of dealing with the whole situation. They are able to use their creativity to turn an adverse situation into a nice experience,” said the Dalat Assembly Woman.
She said SK Jebungan which had 155 students including 25 pre-school children was flooded and though the water subsided later in the morning the school staff knew that flood water might return later in the afternoon.
“They (school teachers) knew that they could not use the classroom for the pre-school class. So the pre-school students were moved to their dining hall which is near the river.
“It is a nicer place than their original classroom – open air and nice scenery by the river.
And even though it is near the river, the security of the place is not an issue as the place is properly grilled and buffered by Nipah palm. These pre-school students I believe will learn even better there.
This is the kind of attitude we hope our educational personnel would adopt,” said Fatimah who again reminded all schools to put the students’ safety first.
Meanwhile the opening of the new term for eight primary schools in Tatau District was also postponed due to flood but the school staff went to the school to prepare the lessons when school resumes.
The schools were SK Sg Bagian, SK Nanga Penyarai, SK Rh Tayai, SK Rh Keseng, SK Nanga Tau, SK Kuala Anau, SK Kuala Muput, SK Sangan Iban and SK Kpg Nyalau.
The officer of the School Management Unit in Tatau Florence Tampang said the classes would be suspended until the flood had subsided and the schools cleaned up.
The floods situation in Tatau District remained at alert level yesterday.
Several families have been evacuated to Tatau Sports Centre since December 29.
About 100 evacuees including children were still at the relief centre as of yesterday.