The unfinished SK Long Lukang project.
KUCHING (Apr 24): Ba Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian has called on the minister in charge of education in Sarawak to take a personal interest in the uncompleted SK Long Sukang in Lawas.
He was passing through Long Sukang village recently when his attention was drawn to the unfinished/abandoned SK Long Sukang project.
He claimed that some of the villagers from Long Sukang told him that they had no idea on what was going on or what the status of the rebuilding was.
“I have brought up this matter numerous times in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) but until today, nothing has been done at the site.
“I recall that the then Minister of Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah paid a visit to the school in April 2016 where it was announced that the project, which was listed under Rolling Plan 1 (which is of the highest priority) of the 11th Malaysia Plan, would be re-tendered.
“In November 2017, Assistant Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Dr Annuar Rapee in answer to my question in DUN, said that an additional RM19 million had been approved to complete the remaining 30 per cent of the project,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Baru said this RM25-million project was approved and commenced in 2009 under the 9th Malaysia Plan, and Malaysians are now at the 12th Malaysia Plan in 2021.
He lamented that a school should not take 12 years to build, saying the people of Long Sukang had waited for so long.
“The minister in charge should take a personal interest in the matter. If the problem of water logging and soil movement cannot be solved, the Education Ministry should consider demolishing the incomplete structure and building a new one on higher dry ground,” he said.
Aside from that, Baru lamented that he also had been reliably informed that there is a serious shortage of teachers in almost all schools, both primary and secondary.
As an example, he said SMK Lawas is short of 16 teachers and SK Lg Semadoh is short of six teachers while other primary schools are short of at least two or three teachers.
“I have been told that this lack of teachers is a problem throughout Sarawak.
“This is a serious issue that has a direct bearing on the progress of our people and the future of Sarawak.
“Education is the passport to the future for all of us, and there must be more investment put into our education system,” he stressed.
Baru said the shortage of teachers has been a long-standing problem.
He noted that in 2018, the then Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching said that “… there are certain places like Sabah, Sarawak and Johor where we are facing a shortage of teachers, but these are also the places with the highest requests to be transferred away…”
He said it is obvious to all Sarawakians that there is a need to recruit and train local Sarawakian teachers as they would be more versatile to adapt to local conditions, especially in the rural areas of Sarawak.
“Last month, Sarawak Bumiputera Teachers Union (KGBS) president Ahmad Malie said that the problem had reached a critical level and appealed for an urgent response from the Ministry of Education.
“I would urge the Sarawak government to actively recruit Sarawakian graduates for retraining to be teachers, especially those who may be finding it challenging to find jobs at this time.
“Perhaps retired teachers can be persuaded to go back into the profession on contract basis,” he suggested.
Baru said in the long run, Sarawak must take back its education autonomy from the federal government as it appears that Sarawak and its need of teachers is not high on their list of priorities.
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