The Finance Ministry has allocated RM78 million to rehabilitate dilapidated schools in Sabah this year, said minister Lim Guan Eng.

He hoped that the funds could help repair, rebuild, and replace about 30 to 35 school buildings that have been neglected for over 15 years.

“It will be based on the discussions and evaluations to be held by the Education Ministry with the Works Ministry and the Sabah state government.

"We have a new formula for the Sabah state government to be more actively involved in the rehabilitation of schools in the interiors, in terms of monitoring the work," he said during a press conference with Sabah Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal after a dialogue session on Budget 2020 in Kota Kinabalu today.

Lim said his ministry always strived to ensure the development of education, especially in terms of improving the infrastructure of schools in the state.

Meanwhile, Shafie said the Sabah state government welcomed the allocation approved by the Finance Ministry, and he was confident that the funds would enable the state government to provide better educational facilities to rural students.