KOTA KINABALU: State Education Director Datuk Jame Alip hoped that the Education Ministry will expedite the approval for the department to appoint consultants to evaluate the safety of old school buildings in Sabah.
He said that the department had identified 640 wooden school buildings in Sabah, some of which were built in the 1960s, that needed to be upgraded to concrete structure.
“As a long-term remedial measure, the State Education Department has applied for a RM500 million allocation to replace the 640 wooden school buildings but this will take some time to be implemented.
“So as the short-term plan, the State Education Department has set up a committee to check these schools for safety risks and although the Public Works Department (PWD) is doing a good job helping us out, they are shorthanded and cannot be there all the time.
“So I see the need for the State Education Department to apply from the Education Ministry’s development unit to allow us to appoint a consultant for each of the schools and these consultants will evaluate the safety of the 640 school buildings,” said Jame after the presentation of the ‘Tutor 2014’ educational publication by Deputy Chief Minister cum Petagas assemblyman Datuk Seri Panglima Yahya Hussin to six schools in his constituency yesterday.
According to Jame, there are many consultants available in Sabah who can be appointed to do the evaluation of the 640 schools.
“If the proposal is approved, we can expedite our delivery system towards resolving the issues,” he said.
Jame is also hopeful that the allocation which the State Education Department has applied for will be approved soon so that the upgrading work on the schools can start.
“We have applied for RM500 million from the Education Ministry and we are waiting. Ideally, the sooner the allocation is approved the better because it is an urgent need after seeing five wooden schools burning down since March,” he said.
He reiterated that there were no criminal elements or sabotage involved in the fires which destroyed SM Pekan Kiulu Tuaran, SK Gadong Beaufort, SK Simpangan Kota Marudu, SK Tampasak Papar and SK Peninbawan, Tuaran.
The director also brushed aside allegations that the Education Ministry is not concerned about Sabah and pointed out that the Federal Government is very concerned and had in fact allocated billions to the state for education infrastructure and facilities.
“Maybe there are technical problems with regards to the approval of allocation but that is all, so give us time to resolve the problems in the state,” he said.