Education Ministry allocates RM100,000 each to two Sabah vernacular Chinese schools
KOTA KINABALU, Feb 7 — The federal Education Ministry is allocated some RM100,000 each to two Sabah vernacular schools in the state capital here.
The allocation for SK Anglo Chinese and the SJKC Chung Hwa Likas was announced by Deputy Education Minister Lim Hui Ying on her first official visit here today.
“Earlier, I noticed that there were several items which need to be repaired, including the leaky roof of the hall, several dangerous routes, and toilets,” she said after visiting the SK Anglo Chinese school.
Later, at SKJC Chung Hwa, she also said that the ministry initially planned on allocating some RM50,000 to the schools for upgrading works but upon recommendations from the local Parent Teacher Association chairman and the local Likas assemblyman Tan Lee Fatt, Lim said the amount was doubled.
In her earlier speech, she said that the ministry will put extra effort into boosting the education system in Sabah which is seen as lagging behind its Peninsula counterparts by focusing on three main issues which were dilapidated facilities, lack of students and special education.
Lim said that the first focus is the upgrade of schools which are in poor condition.
“We will focus on upgrading dilapidated schools in Sabah, therefore I am planning to visit schools located in the interior in my next visit,” she said.
The ministry will also look at how to improve student attendance in schools and strengthen special education.
She also thanked the teachers involved in an accident when a jetty collapsed in Pulau Pababag, Semporna recently.
In the incident last week, 25 primary and kindergarten pupils fell into the sea when a village jetty collapsed. Two sustained light injuries and all of them were hauled up to safety by teachers and villagers during the jetty collapse incident.
The pupils were heading to the school when the mishap happened.
Lim said that the teachers were not just education providers but also guardians and heroes to the students.
She also said that the schools should prioritise safety and recommended using life jackets when using water transport.
