KUCHING: A total of 51 schools throughout the state are in the first phase of the rebuilding and upgrading of schools by using the Industrialised Building System (IBS) method.
According to Works Minister, Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, under the first phase of the project, the Public Works Department (PWD) mandated its state department to select and appoint 13 contractors for the reparing and rebuilding of the 51 schools which involved 294 classrooms, 12 hostels, seven science rooms, 28 toilet units and six dining halls, costing more than RM130 million.
He said this in a press conference after officiating the ground breaking ceremony of Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Pinang in Bau yesterday.
Fadillah added he would be monitoring their performances, and if they managed to implement the project according to the specifications, time frame and cost, their chances of getting the next project under the second phase next year would be bigger.
He added under the first phase, another 66 upgrading works for schools had been submitted for implementation under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, that also needed to be completed this year. He also said the federal government has given the commitment to allocating RM500 million for the second phase of upgrading, repairing and rebuilding of schools in Sarawak next year.
Apart from that, Fadillah stated that his ministry will propose the setting up of a joint committee between Sarawak and federal government to work on the selection of schools for the implementation of the second phase of repair works of dilapidated schools in the state next year.
He said he would bring the matter to the federal level to be discussed by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education, and when agreed, the committee would be mandated in various aspects of the project such as prioritising, selecting construction methods, monitoring projects and so forth.
“We have the list of dilapidated schools prepared by both federal and state levels, but which schools to be prioritised have yet to be finalised, as the federal government wants to hear what the state needs,” he pointed out.
Also present were Serembu Assemblyman, Miro Simuh and state PWD Director, Ir Datu Zuraimi Sabki.
