589 dilapidated schools in Sabah unsafe
Published on: Thursday, April 23, 2020
By: Neil Chan
Kota Kinabalu: Out of 1,296 schools in Sabah, 589 were in the category of dilapidated schools, of which 91 were classified as dilapidated Scale 7 schools that were unsafe to occupy, said State Education and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob (pic).He was replying to a question from Membakut Assemblyman Datuk Mohd Arifin Mohd Arif who asked how many dilapidated and unsafe schools Sabah have.
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Mohd Arifin said the issue of dilapidated schools posed a serious challenge that the State Education and Innovation Ministry and Federal Education Ministry must take seriously.
Last year, Sabah received a grant of RM106.7 million from the Federal Government to replace 24 unsafe schools.
Dr Yusof said although approved in 2019, only two schools are under construction before the Movement Control Order (MCO) while 22 other projects, which were under the tender process, were delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This year, approvals have been granted under the 11th Malaysia Plan RP1 allocation for 61 dilapidated schools.
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“Of these, 55 were for replacement projects and six were for structural repairs at a cost of RM445,394,733,” he said.
Dr Yusof said a total of 84 RP1 projects have yet to be initiated during the year. The implementing agencies for these projects are State Public Works Department (82 projects), Federal Education Ministry (25 projects), Federal Higher Education Ministry (nine projects) and Federal PWD (29 projects).
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Dr Yusof said his Ministry has set up a Sabah Schools Implementation Committee of which the State Development Director, State Treasury, CIDB and Pukonsa are members to ensure the projects can be implemented efficiently and soonest possible.
He said efforts to obtain approval for the remaining 34 dilapidated Scale 7 schools will continue.
The PWD’s declaration on buildings that are unsafe does not mean that all building blocks within the school premises cannot be occupied, he said.
“There are also buildings within the school premises that are safe to use for teaching and learning activities.
“However, if all buildings in the premises have been declared unsafe, the school will be vacated and all students and residents will be placed in a safe area not far from the original school.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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