Sabah school flushes down 20 sen fee for toilet use

The Sabah education authorities say it is the responsibility of schools to teach students to keep their toilets clean.

KOTA KINABALU: A secondary school in Kota Belud has decided to withdraw a letter to parents that it will be charging students 20 sen per visit to toilets from this Sunday.

This came after the letter went viral on social media, especially WhatsApp.

Sabah Education director Mistrine Radin confirmed the letter was issued by the SMK Narinang principal on March 2 but it will now be retracted.

“The suggestion to charge students for using the toilet was made by the school’s parent-teacher association (PTA) with the intention of curbing vandalism and to upkeep cleanliness.

“However, after I and the Kota Belud education officer reprimanded the school, the principal decided to rescind the letter.

“We now consider this matter resolved,” she told FMT today.

Mistrine said schools are to engage contractors to carry out general cleaning services, including for washrooms.

She said the PTA can help fix damaged toilet facilities but the ultimate responsibility of keeping them clean lies with the schools themselves.

“We have to educate students to keep school toilets clean. If not, repaired facilities will end up damaged again,” she said. - FMT