Sabah schools lack funds 'for even basic facilities'

2008/05/08

At the Sabah Assembly: Sabah schools lack funds 'for even basic facilities'




Datuk Seri Musa Aman (right) with Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan (second from left) and Datuk Yahya Hussin before his speech at the assembly yesterday.


MANY schools in Sabah are short of tables and chairs, forcing students to sit on the floor during classes.

The problem was attributed to insufficient funds for the maintenance and buying of additional tables and chairs from the Education Ministry.

State Education Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said a sum of RM21.4 million was required to address the problem but the Education Ministry only approved RM2.2 million.

"This (allocation given by the Education Ministry) is unacceptable," he said, adding that Sabah had yet to receive the RM2.2 million approved for the state.

He apologised for not being able to solve the many problems and issues raised by members of the House, saying that he was "powerless".

"Although I am the minister in charge of education in Sabah, there is nothing much I can do because the approval and provision of funds for schools is not within my power."

Sabah has a total of 1,064 government primary schools and 207 secondary schools, but Masidi did not specify how many of the schools did not have sufficient tables and chairs.

Masidi said all he could do was to continue writing to the Education Ministry about the problem.

On Monday, Datuk Hamisah Samat (Umno-Tanjung Batu) had told the house that pupils of SK Kalabakan in her constituency had to sit on the floor during classes due to lack of tables and chairs.

Winding-up for his ministry, Masidi said the problem raised by the member of Tanjung Batu was only the tip of the iceberg.

"We have been talking about smart schools, but in Sabah many schools don't even have basic facilities."

Earlier, during the question-and-answer session, Masidi said the unprecedented increase in the prices of building materials, such as cement and steel, had delayed the construction of new schools in the state.

He said the contractors had asked for the contract price to be reviewed upward to enable them to complete the construction.