The 357 low enrolment schools identified by the Education, Science and Technological Research (MESTR) and Sarawak Education Department could be merged into 126 centralised schools.
Education and Technological Research Assistant Minister Dr Annuar Rapaee said 651 out of 1,255 schools in Sarawak had been classified as low enrolment schools.
“It is important to merge the said schools as it will affect the schools’ performance positively,” he said in response to a question from Martin Ben (GPS-Kedup).
Martin also queried on how MESTR was going to ensure that the excellent SPM and STPM results among rural students would be maintained.
Annuar replied by saying that since the establishment of MESTR in 2017, it had taken many initiatives to improve the performance of students, especially in rural areas.
“Among the initiatives done is the leadership programme meant for school headmasters. Leadership is an important factor in determining the performance of the schools,” he pointed out.
He added that other initiatives included teachers training programme in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and English language, English language education symposium and English conference, including upskilling programmes for teachers in Sarawak.
