RM2.3mil disbursed to 23 Sarawak schools, says Deputy Education Minister

SIBU: A total of RM2.3mil has been disbursed to 23 schools in Sarawak during a 10-day working visit by Deputy Education Minister Lim Hui Ying.

“I visited 17 schools in Sarawak and allocated RM2.3mil to 23 schools, we invited school representatives to receive the allocation,” said Lim on Tuesday (Oct 3).

Speaking after visiting SMK St Elizabeth, she said the latter was the last school they visited during the 10-day working visit to Sarawak.

Also present were Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Alice Lau, Sibu MP Oscar Ling, Senator Roderick Wong,and Sarawak Education deputy director Dr Les Met.

“Today in Sibu, the total amount allocated was RM310,000. We allocated RM110,000 to SMK Elizabeth, RM100,000 to SJKC Tiong Hin, and RM100,000 for SJKC Thai Kwang,” she said.

Lim said that she hopes that the schools will fully use the funding allocated by the Federal Government, and added that restoring dilapidated schools in Sarawak would be among the Ministry’s main focuses next year.

“Schools with a scale of 7 must be demolished and rebuilt. Therefore, this is one of our priorities as we need to expedite this process.

“We are also addressing the issue of school dropouts in rural areas. We will study how to tackle this situation,” she added.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek had in January said that the ministry had identified 568 schools that were unsafe for use.

On Budget 2024 to be tabled on Oct 13, Lim said she welcomed the statement made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that the Education Ministry would continue to receive the biggest allocations

“We are indeed very grateful for the allocation. This is crucial because many schools need maintenance.

“We want our students to learn in a safe and comfortable environment because they are the future leaders of the country,” said Lim.