KUCHING: Today, 371 schools in Sarawak are still without electricity supply and fully dependent on generators sets.
This was revealed by the Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research, Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong during his winding up speech in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting in Petra Jaya here yesterday.
“Under the Federal Ministry of Education’s current contract since January 1, 2017, all of these schools are to be installed with the solar hybrid system. However, we are of the opinion that this is not a total solution.
“In 2017, my ministry submitted a proposal for 113 schools that are within 10 kilometres of the electricity grid to be connected to the grid. The estimated cost then was RM50 million.
“My ministry intends to pursue this further with the Federal Ministry of Education in order to ensure that these schools can enjoy 24 hours’ supply of electricity.
“With the 24 hours’ supply of reliable electricity, students and teachers will enjoy the same convenience and comfort as their counterparts in the urban areas. The remaining 258 schools that are located far from the electricity grid (more than 20 kilometres), probably can be considered to be installed with the solar hybrid system,” said Manyin.
According to the Minister, 428 schools in the state are still without treated water supply.
“These schools currently depend on various water sources such as rainwater harvest, gravity feed, tube well and water from the river. The quality of water supply is questionable and unreliable,
“The State Education Department (JPNS) submitted a proposal in 2016 to the Federal Ministry of Education for 62 schools within one kilometre of the main water pipes to be connnected involving an estimated cost of RM9.2 million,
“RM2.3 million was already approved by the Federal Ministry of Education on June 1, 2018, and the State Education Department is still waiting for the warrant,” he said.
On road accessibility to schools, Manyin said 721 schools did not have proper road access. 200 of these schools were accessible only by river or sea and 521 schools did not enjoy all-weather road access.
“This does not only affect students’ attendance in schools, especially during unfavourable weather conditions, but also affects teachers who have to commute regularly. The commitment and morale of teachers serving in these schools are affected because the environment in the schools is not up to the expectation.
“That is why the attrition rate amongst teachers in these schools is high as teachers deployed frequently request for transfer. All these distruptions have impact on the students’ overall performance. Furthermore, staff and students commuting to schools using rivers are constantly exposed to danger.
“Our proposal to merge low-enrolment schools into centres that have all-weather road access as well as necessary facilities, including boarding, will help alleviate this situation,” he stressed.
