PETALING JAYA: The education ministry has asked the transport ministry to conduct a thorough assessment before allowing school bus fares to increase.
Deputy education minister Wong Kah Woh said the interests of all parties must be safeguarded.
“Low-income families would feel burdened if school bus fares increase,” Bernama reported Wong as saying after opening a pre-school at SJKC Sam Chai in Ipoh today.
The Federation of School Bus Associations Malaysia had confirmed that school bus fares were expected to increase for the upcoming new academic session in March.
Its president, Amali Munif Rahmat, said this increase was necessary due to the high cost of vehicle replacement parts, with over 80% of the items being imported.
He said since January 2015, the government no longer controlled school bus fares.
On a separate issue, Wong said the education ministry would expedite the allocation requested by Sekolah Kebangsaan Darau in Kota Kinabalu to carry out urgent repairs to its ageing infrastructure and damaged facilities.
Wong said RM140,000 was disbursed last year to the school and this year, the state education department had submitted a similar request.
“SK Darau was built in the 1940s and it is in a poor state. We will expedite the application and disburse the funds promptly.”
The ceiling in a classroom at SK Darau was reported to be unsafe. Parents of students in the affected class collected RM1 each to buy a new ceiling fan.
Wong, who is also Taiping MP, said the affected students had been relocated to another classroom for lessons to be conducted in more comfortable conditions. - FMT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.