Financial package to address Sarawak's education woes: Zahid

SIBU: The Education Ministry and Sarawak State Government would formulate proposals and create an effective financial package to address issues related to education in the state.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the proposals would be submitted to the Economic Council in October, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.
Speaking to the media at the conclusion of his two-day working visit, at Sibu International Airport here today, he said the relevant measures were discussed at the coordination meeting on aging schools in Sarawak which he chaired last night.
He noted that only 29.9% of the schools in Sarawak were conducive for learning and that out of the 1,454 schools in the state, 1,020 were run-down with 395 categorised as dilapidated school 1 (DS1), 210 as DS2 and 415 as DS3.
He said other issues discussed during the coordination meeting were, insufficient number of pupils in certain schools, and water and electricity supply.
Meanwhile, Zahid said the federal government approved 300 school redevelopment projects in the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP).
"At the same time, approval has been given for the construction of 183 schools in the second Rolling Plan under the 11MP based on the industrialised building system (IBS) approach, with an allocation of RM366 million.
"Throughout 2016 and this year, 50 dilapidated schools have been and are being rebuilt by the Education ministry using IBS at a cost of RM153.3 million," he said.
Of the 50 schools, he said, 23 had been completed, while 27 were under construction, including four schools being built by the Public Works Department.
He also acknowledged that the Sarawak state government had made the issue of run-down schools its priority and raised relevant matters in the State Cabinet on Aug 24, for proactive steps to be taken. — Bernama