Ministry To Audit Condition Of Schools Nationwide - Muhyiddin

HULU SELANGOR, April 2 (Bernama) -- The Education Ministry will audit the physical condition of schools nationwide and those in dilapidated state will be upgraded, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.

Muhyiddin, who is also the education minister, said the move was necessary as the physical condition of a school, especially the classroom, was important in creating a conducive learning environment.

The condition of schools would also influence the performance among students, he said.

"I've instructed that an audit be carried out on the physical condition of schools throughout the country," he said at a get-together with Hulu Selangor educators at Sekolah Menengah Sains Hulu Selangor in Ulu Yam here.

Also present were Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar, Education Director-General Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom and State Education Director Sulaiman Wak.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the audit would, among other things, focus on the physical conditions of the schools, classrooms and excessive student capacity to the extent that they affected the learning environment.

He cited the poor infrastructure in several schools in the interior regions, including in Sabah, which affected the performance of students in the schools concerned.

"I have visited (the schools) in Sabah. I found that the academic performance (of the schools there) was not very high. Besides the factor of the remote location, other factors are the poor condition of the schools, the lack of roads, the lack of electricity and water supply and the frequent flooding," he said adding that emphasis were also being given to urban schools.

For this purpose, Muhyiddin said the ministry would provide a data base for schools which needed immediate action.

He said the ministry would upgrade the schools concerned in stages according to priority and current needs based on the prevailing financial capacity.

In his speech, Muhyiddin also touched on the formation of the special committee to study the excessive workload borne by teachers and the government would take appropriate action based on the feedback from the committee.

At the function, the Deputy Prime Minister also announced that a national secondary school would be built at Bandar Utama, Batang Kali while three primary schools would be built in the Hulu Selangor district, with one already under construction.