By Olivia Miwil - September 23, 2020 @ 11:30am
BEAUFORT: Despite being located only about 20 minutes from Menumbok town near here, Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Sangkabok is still facing difficulties in accessing basic needs.
Its headmaster Peter Antang said that the staff and students have been facing several difficulties, ranging from cramped classrooms, dilapidated and inadequate buildings, and even having to rely on rainwater for their water supply.
"There is a lack of classrooms for the students and each classroom has to be shared with two classes. "Apart from that, the school administration including the headmaster's room also has to be housed under the teachers' quarters," he said after a groundbreaking by Senior Education Minister Dr Radzi Jidin for the rebuilding and upgrading of the school facilities.
Peter said the scarce water supply is another major issue, prompting them to turn to rainwater which is the most reliable source. On average, the school only gets metered water supply twice a week due to low water pressure.
"We have tried to source an alternative which is gravity water supply, but due to the location near to the sea, the water is not suitable to be consumed.
"Another issue is in the school hostel for the children which can only house half of the eligible students due to the requirements of the ministry's standard operating procedures to prevent the Covid-19 infection," he said, adding only 16 out of 33 were staying at the hostel now.
The school of 101 students and 19 teachers will now be able to solve its infrastructure issues as the Education Ministry will be rebuilding six of its classrooms, an administration block and a science laboratory at a cost of RM3,989,532.
Peter extended his gratitude to the federal government for addressing the school's issues as this would help to bridge the education gap between rural and urban schools. "We want better infrastructure and facilities for the pupils and to provide a better and conducive environment to help with the learning process.
"We are also hoping with the development brought to this school, it will boost the morale of teachers and students to improve the school's overall performance," he said.
Dr Radzi, who had earlier visited cluster school SK Rimbaan nearby before the ceremony, said he believed SK Sangkabok could do just as well as other schools. "I was a lecturer in Australia and when I set up examination questions, they were made according to what students are able to pass.
"I believe SK Sangkabok is equally good, but maybe the time has yet to come and requires a different approach to achieve the targets. It is not impossible," he said during the speech.
The ceremony was part of Radzi's working visit to Sabah which has seen him touring the state to see and hear for himself the issues faced by schools, teachers and students.
Apart from excelling in academics, Radzi also said that he admired the spirit and attitude shown by the students who were dedicated to change the lives of their family members through education. "About two weeks ago, I saw a dilapidated building on the roadside and I was told it was a hostel.
"I went into the building without informing the school authorities, I saw students studying on their own in the dimmed light and some were even studying in the pantry. They did it without any wardens nor supervisors.
"They even had to sleep on the floor with the soiled mattresses and pillows. But, they still diligently came to school," he said.
Radzi also learnt that students who were not allowed to stay at the hostels due to SOPs still continue walking for hours just to get to school.He said the motivation of these students made him want to come out from his office in Putrajaya and came to Sabah to do more for the people of Sabah in terms of education.
From his data and surveys during his working visit, he has found that there are many petty issues at schools which escalated as they were not solved immediately.
One of the examples was poor building maintenance. The ministry had to bear higher costs of repairing leaking roofs which became progressively worsened over time.
He also revealed that a school in Ranau had been paying thousands of ringgit every month due to a faulty pipe system after the earthquake in 2015.
Also present during the event on Monday were Beaufort member of parliament Datuk Azizah Dun and Sabah Education director Dr Mistirine Madin.
Meanwhile, during the working visit to SK Sengkabok, Radzi and his entourage took time to sing a birthday song to a Primary 2 pupil.
When the minister entered the class, he found out that it was Nur Husna Rasyidah Ridhwan's birthday as all 14 of her classmates were eating homemade cupcakes. Radzi also visited SK Biah Bt 65, a school of 109 pupils located near the Salinwangan station for the Beaufort-Halogilat line, where most of its students travel to school via diesel locomotives.
During the walkabout Radzi checked on the supply of new mattresses and wardrobes for the school hostel. After that, he met with the teaching officials at SK Rancangan Klias for a "Kupi-Kupi" or tea and meet and greet session.
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