KUCHING: It is hoped that the state government could set up a unit to look after the needs of Chinese primary schools in Sarawak.
Making this call was president of the Federation of Boards of Management for SJKC of Kuching, Samarahan and Serian divisions Jonathan Chai (pic).
“I propose to the state government to set up a similar unit like the Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) to look after the needs of Chinese primary schools and mission schools in Sarawak,” he said during the Chinese New Year Inter-Cultural Calligraphy Couplets Ceremony at SJK Chung Hua No 3 yesterday.
He said with a separate unit, funds allocated for the school would be more systematic.
“On the RM50 million package by the federal government in Budget 2018, a total of 168 schools in Sarawak received an allocation of RM9.39 million, and of the 168, 53 schools from Kuching, Samarahan and Serian division received RM3.03 million,” he said.
However, Chai said that the 53 schools had requested a funding of over RM10 million.
“The funds are needed for maintenance and construction of school buildings and there is a substantial need of funds from the government not only for the schools in the three divisions, but the whole of Sarawak,” he pointed out.
He then said in order to fill the vacuum, it is hoped that the state government can lend a helping hand because the funds from the federal budget was insufficient.
“And the trend now is that we have increasing enrolment from Bumiputera students. This is because parents see the potential and advantage of having to learn another language which is Mandarin,” he stressed.
He also said that about 30 percent of the students in the 56 schools were Bumiputera.
He then explained, for instance, SJK Chung Hua No 2 needed to have another block of classroom and multipurpose hall to cater to additional students, and thus such projects require a large amount of money.
“This is why I propose to the state government to set up this unit,” he said.
He said people needed to appreciate the roles and contributions by the Chinese schools, as they accept students from different races and religions.
On another note, he urged all representatives irrespective of their political party affiliation, be it Pakatan Harapan (PH) or Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to continue in standing firm to reclaim Sarawak’s autonomy, especially in education.
“With the autonomy in education, we can formulate our own education policies. Not only could we train and educate better generation, but also attract students from countries like Singapore, West Malaysia, and China, and thus this will create a another source of income for the State,” he pointed out.
