Cramped classrooms, hostels in rural Sarawak

The appalling conditions of rural schools and roads is compounded by the harsh daily life of teachers teaching there.

KUCHING: Against the three-fold increase of salaries of the state elected representatives and ministers, an opposition assemblyman here has called for in review of school conditions in the Sarawak

Krian assemblyman Ali Biju said rural pupils in Saratok parliamentary constituency were being neglected by the Ministry of Education. The constituency covers Krian and Pakan state seats.

In debating the Yang DiPertua Negeri’s address at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly sitting yesterday, Biju said that everyone was aware of the maxim that ‘the youths of today will be the leaders of tomorrow’.

“And yet this precious investment of ours, these young minds that need nurturing, is not well taken care of.

“Pupils are crammed in dilapidated classrooms where they have to endure an uncomfortable environment that is not conducive to learning.

“Pupils’ and teachers’ furniture need overhaul. Learning materials are scarce and pupils often have to share learning tools just in order to complete their class projects. Contrast this with pupils in schools in the urban centres and cities.

“It is a far cry. How are we going to expect our rural children to progress on par with their city cousins if this is allowed to continue?” he asked.

Biju said their teachers likewise had to endure issues of their own.

“One major issue is that many teachers have to commute daily from Saratok town to schools situated in the rural interior simply because of the insufficiency of living quarters.

“With the appalling conditions of rural roads in Krian, it compounds the harsh daily life of teaching at rural primary schools. Teachers commuting daily have to fight small battles on the way to school even before arriving at their destination.

“Is this how we treat our educators? Are there no funds to build extra teachers quarters in one of the richest states of Malaysia?” Biju asked.

‘Living like sardines in a can’

Biju said that amidst this situation was pathetic conditions boarding facilities for rural students

“What is most disheartening is the state of the boarding houses (asrama) for our young minds.

“Do the honourable members of this most dignified House know and realise that, for example, the very young pupils at Sekolah Kebangsaan Brayang, are forced to even share mattresses in their tiny boarding rooms?

“Why are the young children forced to live like sardines in a tin can? If we in this noble House will not allow our own children to suffer such shocking living conditions, how can we close a blind eye to our rural relatives’ children to live in such despicable and dire conditions in the interior?

“Is it not shameful for wealthy and resource rich Sarawak to close a blind eye to this endemic problem throughout the state, let alone Krian?” he said.