BY TANIA LAM & NATASHA JEE
KUCHING: The state government will take note of SK Merpati Jepang’s Parent-Teacher Association president Senator Zaiedi Suhaili’s request for a feeder secondary school for SK Merpati Jepang students and Sekolah Rakyat Haji Bolhassan to further their secondary education.
In saying this, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg pointed out that there was no more land in the area for such a school.
“We need to find a dedicated residential school for our children who graduate from SK Merpati Jepang,” he said when launching the construction of SK Merpati Jepang’s new administrative building and upgrading of its academic building here today.
Earlier in his speech, Zaiedi put forward the request for a feeder secondary school.
He pointed out that once the school’s students completed Primary 6, they would have to continue their secondary studies at other schools such as St Teresa, St Joseph, and SMK Green Road – which also had their respective primary schools.
“Therefore, I request for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Research Sarawak to consult the State Education Department (JPNS) to create a feeder secondary school to place our students and also those from Sekolah Rakyat Haji Bolhassan,” he said.
He hoped for this new secondary school to be equivalent to a smart school.
“We hope that apart from JPNS and the state government, the local community and parents can also play their role to improve the quality of education for our students here at SK Merpati Jepang, Sekolah Rakyat and other schools,” he said.
On SK Merpati Jepang’s project, Zaiedi said the school had requested for this new block to be realised for over ten years, and this had finally become a reality
“This project is very meaningful and significant for us all,” he said.
He thanked the chief minister for the approval of the RM10.38 million project which he said would be a landmark in the area.
He said SK Merpati Jepang aimed to further enhance its students’ education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
“We have already started to get our students used to the digital world through Information and Communications Technology (ICT),” he said.
At the same time, he also commended the state government’s initiative to provide free school bus services for students as well as the implementation of Sarawak’s own international schools.
