AUDIT REPORT A whopping 85.5 percent of schools in Sarawak are in a state of disrepair, the Auditor-General’s Report 2014 said.
Schoolchildren were studying in either rotting or termite-infested buildings, or where sewage water seeped out, the third series of the report released yesterday reads.
The report said auditors found 127 of the 145 schools in a terrible state, some unsafe to be occupied.
It said several blocks at Lundu schools - SK Sebako and SK Jangkar - were found to be unsafe in an inspection on July 10, 2013 but no action has been taken as at March 31, 2015.
On March 16, the auditors found the condemned blocks at SK Sebako were emptied for renovations but students at SK Jangkar are still studying in the unsafe buildings.
“The Education Ministry should have built a new building to replace the unsafe ones to ensure the comfort and safety of school staff and students,” it said.
“The SK Sebako and SK Jangkar buildings should not have been used anymore after the Lundu Works Department condemned them as unsafe.”
In response, the Education Ministry said allocations to build new classrooms for the two schools are pending review under the 11th Malaysia Plan.
Concern over fire and electric shock
The auditors also raised concern of fire and electric shock, after it found wiring in poor condition.
The government spent RM5.07 million for wiring for 47 schools between 2012 and 2014, it said but this is not enough.
About a quarter of the 145 schools audited had “unsatisfactory” wiring which was “badly damaged or in need of urgent upgrading”.
“Poor wiring could lead to short circuits and fire,” it said.
In fact, it said there were fires at six schools in Sarawak between 2012 and 2014, “but the cause was not stipulated”.
The Education Ministry in response said it had allocated RM0.82 million to fix the wiring in school buildings built more than 15 years ago.
The auditors also found that schools damaged by natural disasters have not been repaired.
SK Sebako students continue to study in a school with a damaged roof, wall and wiring system after a storm in September last year.
Despite an allocation of RM107,000 by the ministry, the damage was still not repaired during a visit on March 15, the report said.
The ministry said repairs should be done by the end of the year.
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