PRESS
RELEASE
KUALA
LUMPUR, 21 OCTOBER 1998
ONGKILI
: NEW SCHOOL FOR MAGANDAI URGENTLY NEEDED
Kuala
Lumpur, Wed. - Bandau member of parliament Dr Maximus Ongkili
today urged the ministry of education to provide a special allocation
to build a new school for SK Magandai in the constituency of Tandek.
He
said the present school building constructed by the Sabah Journalists
Association with the help of the community of kampung Sungai Magandai
was insufficient to cater for the education needs of some 200 students
who registered with the school.
Dr
Ongkili was participating in the debate on the Supplementary Development
Bill (No. 2), 1998 in the Dewan Rakyat this afternoon which was
tabled yesterday by Second Finance Minister Datuk Mustapha Mohamed.
The Bill sought for an additional development expenditure of RM2.7
billion under Standing Orders 67 (B).
Among
others, the Bill allocated RM334.3 million for the ministry of education
to finance development programmes of local universities, urban schools
and rural hostels.
The
PBS deputy president said about 50 students were currently studying
at the school in Kampung Sungai Magandai although some 200 children
had registered for classes, stressing that the two-classroom school
was grossly insufficient to cater even the present number of students
attending.
He
commended the Sabah education department for taking over the school
about three months ago and appointing four teachers for the school
including a Guru Besar after years of appealing by the Sonsogon
community.
"A
new school building is urgently needed because SK Magandai is the
only school for over 1,000 school-age going children for the whole
area of at least 10 nearby villages. Recently the school principal
was transferred for no apparent reason aside from "being over active
in administering the school" which now leaves the school with only
three teachers, one of whom has not reported for duty," he claimed.
Dr.
Ongkili also sought clarification from the education ministry whether
it was true that a previous allocation approved for the school was
reassigned to SK Nibang in Pitas, arguing that it was improper to
do so because SK Magandai was in greater need for the allocation.
He
said SK Magandai needed an immediate allocation of RM200,000 for
its first phase of development to construct a larger classroom (RM50,000),
teachers quarters (RM50,000), hostel (RM50,000) and basic equipment
for classrooms and quarters (RM50,000).
Stressing
that the amount was very meager compared to the development allocation
for "Smart Schools" and other urban schools, Dr Ongkili said the
ministry should implement the project immediately to assist the
Sonsogon community which number only about 5,000 people in Tandek.
He
said this would prove the government’s sincerity in providing education
for all and ensuring that the gap between the "haves" in the urban
areas and the "have nots" in the rural areas in terms of educational
development was reduced.
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