Parents cry foul over unsafe classes

LUKUT: Two estate Tamil schools around Port Dickson have classes which are barely three metres high – and shocked parents are crying foul.

The low ceilings pose a danger: pupils can stand on a chair and easily touch the fans.

With no thought for the children’s safety, the contractors are raking in large profits – and the government appears to have covertly approved the contractors’ actions, according to several angry residents.

The new buildings for the Sengkang and Sungai Salak Tamil schools, which are scheduled to be ready this year for occupation, have classrooms which are barely three metres high.

FMT was informed that according to the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), the Sengkang Tamil school classrooms were designed to be at least 3.6m high.

But instead the classrooms in the new building, which is 99% complete, is only 2.67m high, far less than the gazetted 3.6m.

According to a frustrated parent, after installing a fan in the classroom, the height of the ceiling from the floor to the fan is 2.37m.

“This is dangerous. My child can stand on a classroom chair and touch the fan. A teacher just has to raise her hand to spin the fan,” said the parent.

According to the parent, the RM2-million new school building also did not meet the original design specifications and safety standards set out in the 9MP.

Construction, which began in 2010, includes building classrooms, teacher’ rooms, a library, a canteen, a science laboratory and other facilities.

The existing Sengkang Tamil school with over 100 students has been operating from a temporary site after its old building was demolished.

Very hot and unsafe
Meanwhile, the RM3-million Sungai Salak Tamil school is also facing a similar problem. The 11 new classrooms are only 2.4m high even before a ceiling fan is installed.
Shocked parents discovered that the Public Works Department (PWD) had “approved” the design for the classrooms, with heights varying from 3.05m to 3.2m, which breached the 9MP specifications.

Said a Sungai Salak resident: “How can this happen? Why is PWD cheating the Indians and discriminating against Tamil schools?

“How can the pupils study comfortably in such a small classroom? With the ceiling so low, it will be very hot and unsafe. Somebody is making lots of money by reducing the height of the ceiling,” said the resident who preferred to be called Maniam.

According to Maniam, in the construction business, “even a few inches taken off from a design means profit” to the contractor.

“As far I know, PWD spends RM150,000 to build a standard classroom. This means that for every 4ft, it spends RM50,000 and for the entire 12ft (3.6m) as specified under 9MP, it would spend RM150,000.
“But in the Sungai Salak Tamil school, the floor-to-ceiling height is only 8ft (2.4m). That means PWD has spent RM50,000 less for each classroom. Now calculate that against 11 classrooms. Someone is walking away with just over half a million ringgit!

“I am very disappointed that the PWD and the Education Ministry have allowed the contractors to rake in profits, with no regard for the safety of the pupils,” he added.