KOTA BELUD: State Umno liaison deputy chief Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak has urged the Education Ministry to delegate more authority to the Sabah Education Department.
In making the call, he said this was necessary to expediate implementation of various projects and programmes to uplift the education standards in the state, particularly in the rural areas that had performed poorly in the national examinations.
“The delegation must be supported with enough funds while cutting unneccessary bureucratic process,” he told reporters after attending the Aidilfitri Open House hosted by teachers here, yesterday.
Salleh, who is also State Legislative Assembly Speaker, said the current practice saw simple matters having to be referred to Putrajaya, thus jeopardising the government’s efforts in developing education in Sabah.
“Many school buildings in the state are in need of repair and educational projects are not carried out systematically due to this system,” he said adding that the delegation of more authority to the State Education Department was in line with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s government transformation in the field of education.
The Education Ministry had earlier agreed to delegate power to each education director of Sabah and Sarawak to manage the award of education development project contracts in the two states. — Bernama
