SOME school buildings were found to be “unsuitable for use” but yet no action had been taken to rectify the situation, said the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
According to PAC chairperson Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin the committee had visited four schools in Sarawak on Feb 5 as part of the PAC’s proceedings on the upgrading and redevelopment of dilapidated schools under the Education Ministry as well as the public works department (JKR) at both federal and state levels for Sabah and Sarawak.
The schools in question are SK Supok, SK Nanga Grenjang, SK Serabang and SK Paku Central.
“These school buildings had long been identified by JKR as unsuitable for use, yet no corrective action was taken,” Mas Ermieyati told reporters at the Parliament media centre on Thursday (March 21).
“For example, there was a building that has been left unrepaired for 12 years despite having been recommended (for upgrades).”
The Masjid Tanah MP said the PAC was informed that this was due to financial constraints that had forced the ministry to prioritise certain schools based on their condition or critical damage.
The committee also found delays by the ministry in the approval of projects to rebuild dilapidated schools. This resulted in the condition of buildings deteriorating.
The PAC had put forward four recommendations for the ministry to achieve and report to the committee within two months’ time.
While this is no means an ultimatum, Mas Ermieyati said this was necessary to measure whether the ministry had complied with the recommendations and for further action by the PAC.
She further noted that during the proceedings held with the ministry on Jan 17, it was found that there were a total of 267 project applications by dilapidated schools that were proposed to the Economy Ministry and 249 were approved.
“The establishment of a Special Task Force on Public Sector Reform and monitoring by the Education Ministry were initiated to ensure ongoing projects are not delayed,” she remarked.
“For applications that have yet to be presented to or approved by the Economy Ministry, the Education Ministry has made sure maintenance efforts were taken to keep the building safe for students.”
According to the Auditor-General’s Report, only 411 (27.3%) out of 1,505 dilapidated schools have submitted upgrading applications with 398 of them having been approved.
However, only 123 projects had been completed. – March 21, 2024
Main pic credit: The Borneo Post
