Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email The school (one of the top performing schools in UPSR) was partially burnt down recently on June 19th, and nearly half the students end up studying in tents. 7 classrooms and 6 other roooms (living skills, sports, remedial, counselling, textbook and special pupils’ rooms) were destroyed with the loss estimated at RM436,902.
The good news:
the DPM who is also the Education Minister, has instructed that the new school be built here immediately for the benefit of its 1,258 pupils. The new school building will have 25 classroom, an increase from the earlier plan of 18 proposed by PWD (JKR). Also, RM100,000 has been allocated for the construction of cabins for temporary use.
“We want the new school to be ready within 12 months,” he said at a meeting with the Parent-Teacher’s Association (PTA) of the school, here Saturday.
He had instructed the Public Works Department to issue a Letter of Acceptance immediately so that construction work on the school costing more than RM3 million on a 2.19-hectare site contributed by Asiatic Development Berhad, the developer for Asiatic Indahpura, could begin next month.
A bit of background on the school:
The Star on Friday had highlighted that pupils in Year 3, 4 and special needs classes had to rough it out in both the morning and afternoon sessions since the fire on June 19.
The school, which is more than 60 years old, has 1,246 students and 74 teachers.
The losses sustained in the fire is estimated to be around RM436,000.
When asked at a dialogue with parents about the delay and the many promises that were made in the past about the relocation of the school, Muhyiddin replied that he was the Education Minister and work on the new school would start by next month and it was expected to be completed within one year.
The school’s PTA chairman K. Sree Thren said the parents and the Indian community in the area were elated as this put to rest a problem that had been plaguing the community for the past 14 to 15 years.
“In 2008, we found a piece of land about 1km away for the relocation of the school but unfortunately the project never got off the ground,” he said.
Now for the part that pisses me off (if indeed its true):
He (DPM) brushed aside another request from a parent who wanted the school to be turned into a fully aided school, saying, “It is all the same as presently, the salaries of all the teachers here together with new buildings and cabins are being paid for by the Government.
Doesn’t make sense at all right? If its “all the same”, then why bother having two categories or why don’t want to convert the school into full-aided? There’s a difference between being fully-aided and partially-aided, and I think its unbecoming and misleading to say otherwise.
In fact, since the new school building will be on land donated by the private sector, it will be easy to convert to fully-aided status. So, what gives?
