BY NATASHA JEE & ALEXANDRA LORNA
KUCHING: The State Education Department (JPNS) through the Joint Action Committee Meeting on Education Development (JTBPP) Sarawak has approved 33 school-related projects in the state in the first quarter of this year.
Director Datuk Dr Azhar Ahmad, in revealing this, said the department had been given the authority to approve projects funded by the Sarawak government.
“The transfer of authority has also accelerated approvals for project implementation, construction and school maintenance,” he said.
“Previously, only about 20 projects were approved and implemented within a year. Whether the projects would be approved depended on the Ministry of Education (MOE) due to bureaucratic hurdles,” he said.
Dr Azhar said this during an interview with New Sarawak Tribune and its sister paper, Suara Sarawak at the JPNS Office here yesterday (Apr 26).
The department director was asked to comment on MOE’s announcement on February 23 that the Sarawak education director was empowered to approve school maintenance projects funded by the Sarawak government or any other party besides the federal government.
On the 33 approved projects, Dr Azhar said they had been screened since January this year.
“The criteria, screening and selection process for the projects to be approved are quite strict and based on the guidelines set by MOE,” he said.
Asked if the costs of the projects involved were below the RM50,000, Dr Azhar replied, “The authority given by the Minister of Education for me to approve projects is also based on the clauses.
“These projects vary. Some are over RM2 million or RM3 million and do not use funding from MOE.”
Dr Azhar said granting the authority to JPNS to approve the school-related projects in the state was in line with the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), resulting from the efforts of various parties in fighting for the progress of the education sector in the state.
Earlier on Feb 23, it was reported that the decision for the Sarawak Education director to have the authority to approve school maintenance projects funded by the state department or any party aside from the federal government was reached during the JTBPP for Sarawak.
The meeting was chaired by Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek and Sarawak Education, Innovation and Talent Development (MEITD) Minister Datuk Seri Roland Sagah Wee Inn.
MOE said the establishment of JTBPP was specifically aimed at addressing education-related issues in Sarawak, in line with the recommendations of the MA63 Steering Committee Meeting on Education and Health Development Issues in Sarawak and Sabah.
It added several important agendas were discussed in this inaugural JTBPP meeting, including enhancement of human resources, education operations and infrastructure development in Sarawak.
Meanwhile, in a statement, MEITD said that projects under the Rural Transformation Programme (RTP), Minor Rural Projects (MRP) and other minor projects needed to be approved by the state representatives.
It said the delegation of authority was also seen as a major step forward by MoE as a result of several discussions between MEITD and MoE on the subject of MA63, particularly Paragraph 17 of the Inter-Governmental Commitee (IGC) Report 1962.
