Keningau: Rural Development Assistant Minister Datuk Sairin Karno on Thursday took to task the contractor who was appointed to build a secondary school here.He said the "completed" SMK Agama Keningau building at Kg Ria is unsuitable for students.
"We have found many areas in the school compound that are not up to specifications. It is very clear that the contractor concerned had done a cincai (shoddy) job," he said.
The fences around the school, he said, are not high enough and that there was no barbed wire on top of the fences to deter thieves or people with ill intentions to trespass into the school area.
He said dogs or strangers could easily enter the school perimeters by crawling under the fence.
Also, there is no surau, guardhouse and proper barriers to separate the male and female hostels, he said, adding that even the cafeteria is not enclosed.
Towards this end, he said the contractor must finish the work that has been entrusted to him so as to prevent any harm befalling students, teachers and other personnel in the school.
Meanwhile, Ustaz Ramzi Yusof, who represented the school's principal, said there are currently 115 students in Form One and Form Two staying at the hostels.
According to him, these students were transferred to SMK Agama Keningau from SMK Agama in Tambunan since April 29 this year and all of them as well as five teachers are staying in the hostels.
On other developments, Ramzi said, the school is in need of more teaching staff to cope with the numbers of subjects being taught in the school.
"Also, there should be ample lighting around the school at night for security purposes," he said.
He said other facilities that are still lacking are signboard, additional security personnel, storage building, sports courts and field, iron grills for the doors and windows, and also mosquito netting for the hostel windows.
Sairin pledged to bring the matter to the higher authority's attention so that the requests listed by the school management can be considered for approval.
