The Malaysian Insight

MUCH has been said by politicians about the sorry state of Sabah’s schools, but no one except the teachers can speak of the “nightmare” of teaching in dilapidated conditions.

Fearing repercussions for complaining, some teachers spoke to The Malaysian Insight on condition of anonymity, to explain how their surroundings affect their work and kill morale.

A 40-year-old primary school teacher in Sipitang, near the border with Sarawak, said her school does not have treated water supply and must harvest rainwater for cooking at the canteen. Rainwater is also used to supply water to the teachers’ quarters and students’ toilets.

The school does not have a football field, and pupils walk a distance to the kampung field for physical education classes.

“The lack of a school field and an assembly hall makes it difficult to hold assemblies,” she said.

These are the most basic features missing. The teacher said the school also does not have a science lab, library and parking lots.

Teachers themselves handle garbage disposal as the school is deemed out of the way for the local council to send garbage collectors regularly.

“We have to gotong-royong ourselves to send rubbish to a nearby village’s dumping grounds, or burn it ourselves.”

The teacher, who hails from Penampang, said the time taken to attend to such matters or cope with the lack of facilities has led to poor performance in delivering lessons.

“We teachers are just like robots. We are forced to go with the flow. We keep our complaints to ourselves for fear of repercussions from the top.”

No joy in teaching

The issue of underfunded and decrepit schools in Sabah and Sarawak, where many are located in interior areas, is a long-standing problem. The states have also complained that Putrajaya, which controls the Education Ministry, has not provided enough funds for upgrading works.

Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik, however, spoke about it in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday, when he gave an update on works being done at schools in the two states.

He said works are ongoing at 198 dilapidated schools in Sarawak with an allocation of RM557 million.

In 2017, 26 schools in the state had completed upgrading works, and last year, the figure was 66, he said.

He said in Sabah, works are ongoing at 153 schools with an allocation of RM5521.1 million.

That number is a fraction of the state’s more than 500 schools said to be in decrepit condition. This is almost half of the nearly 1,300 schools in the state that urgently need repairs.

Teachers The Malaysian Insight spoke to said their complaints to the state Education Department are often greeted with the response that there are not enough funds from Putrajaya. The teachers said they have been “scolded” for being troublemakers by complaining.

A teacher at a secondary school in Tongod, in central Sabah, said his school’s far-flung location poses several challenges.

Not only does it lack many basic facilities, but the poor mobile reception makes the government-funded 1BestariNet project irrelevant, he said.

The online learning approach introduced by the Education Ministry in 2013 was meant to create a virtual learning environment by connecting thousands of government schools nationwide to the internet using Yes 4G by YTL Communications Sdn Bhd.

“The lack of connectivity causes us to be way behind in lessons. Teachers end up using their own broadband and depend only on one network to conduct lessons.”

As a result of this, he said, the school’s computers and LCD equipment are redundant.

The Pakatan Harapan federal government plans to call fresh bids for the 1BestariNet project following frustrations with YTL’s failure to deliver internet connection to thousands of schools.

21st-century learning?

Another primary school teacher from southern Sipitang said poor road conditions lead to at least 20 pupils skipping classes regularly, sometimes up to one week, during the rainy season.

Her pupils come from farming families who live near the border, like Long Pasia in the interior, where the only workable vehicles are four-wheel drives, even during the dry season.

“The roads are dangerously slippery and muddy during the rainy season. It’s safer for the children to stay at home during the rainy season. I think the school is in need of a hostel.”

She said some pupils hitch rides on lorries owned by the Sabah Rubber Industries Board to school.

If the lorries break down or are in use elsewhere, the children cannot attend school, she said.

“Extra classes are held to make up for the lost sessions, but that is just extra work for the teachers. It’s best if the roads are improved so that pupils no longer skip classes.”

She said the previous Barisan Nasional government had addressed some issues at her school, such as providing additional classrooms, a new lab and toilets.

“My concern now is the lack of treated water supply. The teachers rely on the gravity-fed water system when there’s a shortage.”

A teacher from a primary school in northern Sipitang near the coast said the lack of a science lab at his school makes it impossible for pupils to carry out experiments.

They learn just the theory in science subjects, and have no chance to carry out practical exercises.

“I think we teachers want to implement whatever the government suggests, but when you are lacking almost everything, things as simple as classrooms or fans… it greatly impacts students’ learning.

“The environment is just not conducive. It’s very hot, especially during drought. The students are disinterested.

“In addition, almost all the teachers fork out their own money to make classrooms as cheerful as possible, buying stationery and decorations, or reorganising things to reflect how 21st-century learning is supposed to be.

“Isn’t that ironic?”

Sabah schools are classified into different states of dilapidation. Class One refers to schools built more than 30 years ago, Class Two are schools older than 40 years, and Class Three are schools built with wooden structures and are more than 50 years old.

At least 54.5% of all Sabah schools are in need of immediate maintenance and repairs, state Education and Innovation Minister Yussof Yacob said last October.

Announcing the figure, he said there are schools with damaged hostels, and teachers’ quarters in dilapidated condition without power or water supply. – March 29, 2019.