By Lianne Cheng
SIBU, Oct 23: SK Sibu Jaya students were forced to take classes in the school corridors.
This dire situation faced by the school was revealed by Sibu Rural District Council Deputy Chairman Wong Ching Yong who is also Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Dudong branch chairman.
“SK Sibu Jaya and SMK Sibu Jaya are facing serious shortages of classrooms. The shortages became acute during the outbreak of Covid-19 where the Health Ministry set the requirements of the standard operating procedure for social distancing.
“Due to the serious shortage of classrooms at SK Sibu Jaya, students were sometimes forced to take classes in the corridors.
“The system of rotational teaching in classes was implemented resulting in students not having the opportunity to attend classes every day. This affects the quality of education,” said Wong when visiting three schools including SK Sibu Jaya, SMK Sibu Jaya and SJKC Thian Hua today.
He also pointed out that SMK Sibu Jaya is also facing serious classroom problems. Some science laboratories and workshops had to be converted into classrooms, so that students need not wait for their turns to attend classes.
“The residents of Sibu Jaya have long asked for an additional primary school and a secondary school.
“The Education Office in Sibu has also twice recommended the establishment of a primary school and a secondary school in Sibu Jaya under the Tenth Malaysia Plan (2010-2015) and the Eleventh Malaysia Plan (2016-2020) to solve the problem of rapid increment in student population.
Wong said until now, the recommendations were not accepted.
In an attempt to get the attention of the Education Ministry, Wong and a group of Sibu community leaders have met with Deputy Minister of Education Dato Dr Mah Hang Soon in Kuala Lumpur where they submitted the relevant documents about the two schools in the meeting.
On Oct 22, 2020, during Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg’s visit to Sibu, Wong together with Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian forwarded all the relevant documents to the former.
After listening to Wong’s report, Abang Johari had agreed to help solve the issues.
Meanwhile, Wong hoped that the government will also intervene in solving the roof leakage problem of SJKC Thian Hua and their request for an indoor auditorium. — DayakDaily
