SEMPORNA, Aug 25 — The Ministry of Education (MOE) is paying close attention and commitment to education, especially the welfare of students and the upgrading of dilapidated schools in Sabah and Sarawak, said its minister, Fadhlina Sidek.

She said that her ministry, together with the Sabah Education Department (JPN), is also addressing the concerns of undocumented and non-citizen children, as well as other school-related issues, such as boats.

She said during her visit to Tawau, Kunak and Semporna yesterday (August 23) and today, she personally heard the feedback and requests from headmasters on matters closely related to the development and the need to establish additional classes, repair laboratories including classroom facilities and so on.

"Most of these requests are already within the school’s target, such as the Supplementary Food Programme (RMT). Yesterday, there was a request to provide boats to the schools because there were not enough boats, so we took note of these issues.

"Today, the state education director (Raisin Saidin) is also here, and he will address the matters immediately. We will coordinate with the JPN to sort out various matters,” she said, after visiting Sekolah Kebangsaan Bangau-Bangau today.

Fadhlina is on an official working visit to Tawau, Kunak and Semporna districts, which ends today, for Parliament’s follow-up programme (PTS) for access to education for children and non-citizen children.

In Sabah, a total of 315 dilapidated schools need to be repaired or rebuilt.

Fadhlina said that her visit this time is different from other framework programmes, as PTS is about issues raised in Parliament for the interests and needs of schools in Sabah and Sarawak.

"The second follow-up is that we are prioritising school issues, and the third is for us to be specific in the Madani Economy, involving community participation,” she said. — Bernama