Special task force to be set up to improve infrastructure of Sarawak rural schools

SIBU: A special task force, comprising officers from the Education Ministry and state Education Department, will be established to improve the infrastructure of schools in the interior of Sarawak.
Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said the task force would be responsible for determining which rural schools needed immediate attention or be given long-term consideration.
When met during his visit to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Sacred Heart here today, he however did not disclose when the task force would be formed.
Yesterday Mahdzir visited SMK Balleh, Sekolah Kebangsaan Lepong Balleh and district Education Office in Kapit before attending a dinner with school principals and headmasters in the Kapit and Hulu Rajang parliamentary constituencies.
He said based on his visits to the schools, there were four aspects that should be given emphasis, namely broadband Internet access, clean water supply, hostel facilities as well as electricity supply.
Meanwhile, when asked to comment on the statement by Sarawak Education, Science and Technological Research Minister Datuk Seri Michael Manyin that more new private and international schools be set up to provide quality education opportunities in the state, Mahdzir said there was no objection to that.
"Everyone in the country, including in Sarawak has the right to have access to education and efforts to improve the quality of education should be made regardless of whether we were in the urban or rural areas," he added. — Bernama