Dr Yii (fourth left) hands over a cheque for the first RM50,000 of the pledged amount to SMK Teresa board of management committee member Cynthia Maria Zehnder, witnessed by Mary (third left) and others.
KUCHING: SMK St Teresa is still short of RM3.9 million for the second phase of the school’s rebuilding project.
On Oct 29, 2016, fire struck the school assembly hall block, which also housed the staff room, library, sewing room, music room, counselling room and printing room – rendering the entire block unsafe for use.
Demolition works and erection of perimeter metal structure hoarding later commenced and reached completion in April last year, with the cost of over RM281,917 borne by the Ministry of Education.
The estimated cost of the two-phase rebuilding project is RM7.9 million, and the school has managed to raise RM4.02 million so far – thanks to the Old Teresian Association and the school’s parent-teacher association, the Association of Wives of Ministers and Assistant Ministers of Sarawak (Sabati), corporate bodies, individuals and also the Sarawak government, which allocated RM2 million for the project.
During his visit to the school yesterday, Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii pledged RM100,000 for the Phase II of the project, hoping that he would be able to raise more funds for the school by next year.
“I am still in conversation with the Ministry of Education as well as the Finance Minister on whether or not the federal government could allocate more (funds for the rebuilding project).
“We are not just only rebuilding your school hall, but we are also helping to preserve and uphold the heritage that is part of SMK St Teresa,” said the MP, calling upon the former students and the public to take part in the historic rebuilding project by contributing to the fund.
Meanwhile, SMK St Teresa principal Mary John expressed her hope that enough fund would be raised for Phase II of the project, which should commence this September or the latest, by the year-end.
Mary told reporters that upon project completion, the school would be able to conduct a single-session system as there would be more classrooms to provide a favourable learning experience to the students.
“The plan to build an extra block for classrooms had always been there, even before the fire incident. “But after the fire, we had no choice but to fast-track it (plan to build more classrooms).”
The progress of Phase I, covering a four-storey administration and a classroom block, is at 15.2 per cent – works are ahead of schedule and it is expected to reach completion by Jan 13 next year.
Phase II would cover a three-storey multipurpose hall block.
Konsortium Bumi Consultants and Services Sdn Bhd is in charge of architectural design of the project, KTA Sarawak Sdn Bhd covers the mechanical and electrical works, while Jurutera TCS oversees civil and structural works.