Overshadowed By Covid-19 And Almost Forgotten - Dilapidated Schools In Sarawak
"Dilapidated schools in Sarawak sadly is very old news"‘ Sarawak needs at least RM3.235 billion to repair its dilapidated schools…..from the 1,020 dilapidated schools in the state, only 373 had been repaired, leaving 647 yet to be repaired’…..quote Assistant Education, Science and Technological Research Minister Dr Annuar Rapaee
https://www.newsarawaktribune.com.my/rm3-bln-needed-for-dilapidated-schools/
It has been almost 4 months since we last heard anything about dilapidated schools in Sarawak from any member of the GPS government of Sarawak. Schools in Covid.19 green zones in Sarawak have since reopened and it is almost certain that many schools that have reopened for face-to-face teaching and learning are among the 647 dilapidated schools yet to be repair and restore to safe state.
The Covid.19 pandemic has created many new normals in peoples’ lives all over the world and among the new normal created is in the education sector. Online teaching and learning is one such normal, an unwelcome one as countries throughout the world, including developed countries like the UK and US of America were for most parts unprepared for the challenges posed by online teaching. The sector of the population in affected countries most adversely affected by the new normal is the poor. In Malaysia it is the B40 segment of the population.
In this article, online learning is mentioned in the passing only. It also does not question the wisdom or the lack of it in the reopening of schools while the pandemic is still going on and herd immunity is still far in the horizon. The heart of this article is the commitment of the governments, both the PN federal government and the GPS government of Sarawak towards the education system in Sarawak. It is about how the lack of commitment from both government is robbing the poor and the marginalised among Sarawakians of the opportunity they so badly need to uplift the quality of their lives.
Online learning was not too crucial an issue for education in Sarawak before the Covid.19 pandemic. Face-to-face learning in classrooms were going on as usual and no public exams were postponed, even in the dilapidated schools. Now schools have been asked to reopen even while the Covid.19 is still ravaging most parts of the world including Malaysia. Many students are returning and will be returning to dilapidated schools whose conditions must have deteriorated even more while they were closed for the past 1 year. It would be quite accurate to say that the education system in Sarawak is taking a double whammy - schools in dilapidated condition and face-to-face teaching amidst a pandemic that had so far taken 83 lives in Sarawak.
Dilapidated schools in Sarawak sadly is very old news. The problem can be traced as far back as 2011. Even sadder, dilapidated schools is still very much visible in the education system’s landscape in Sarawak today. The problem looks set to be a permanent blight in the system, unless there is a significant shift in paradigm on the part of the federal government and focused efforts on the part of the Sarawak government.
Dilapidated schools in Sarawak was highlighted in the Auditor General Report 2014 and was brought into public sphere by news report from mainstream media.
https://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/11/23/AG-report-Sarawak-Schools
Since then, Malaysia has seen the federal government have changed twice and Sarawak transitioned from being part of the federal government to an opposition in May 2018 and back into the federal government in March 2020. But the problem of dilapidated schools in Sarawak persists, without any significant improvement achieved by the 3 federal governments and 2 state governments. Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin went from Minister of Education (2009 - 2015) to Deputy Prime Minister (2009 - 2015) to Prime Minister (from March 2020 onwards). The question that we must asked now is this: Why has the federal government not been able to resolve this issue which had put a real damper on the aspirations of so many Sarawakians and why has the government of Sarawak not been able to exert pressure on the federal government so that the issue can be resolved?
In 2019, Sarawak was among the 6 largest contributors to the national GDP, number 3 behind Selangor and Wilayah Kuala Lumpur, with a contribution of 9.6%. In the tussle for federal government power in February 2020, MPs from GPS in Sarawak were the game changer for Malayan MPs who are their comrades in the PN government today. They were the kingmaker behind the federal government, or so they claimed. In other words, Sarawak’s contributions to the nation, without even mentioning her O&G resources which was nationalised in 1974, is very very significant.
The answer to that question is: Both parties do not really care.
When Party Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) installed internet facilities in 8 rural schools in Kapit in Nov 2020, leaders in the GPS government objected very strongly, giving the most flimsy of reason for their objections.
https://www.newsarawaktribune.com.my/installation-of-broadband-services-in-schools-needs-permission/
Sarawakians have long realised that education is key to their efforts to change their lifestyle. Now they must realise that the GPS government is a stumbling block in their efforts to achieve the desired change. They must also now have the determination to remove that stumbling block by changing the state government.
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