Electrical rewiring for old schools will commence soon

The Education Ministry will conduct inspection and carry out electrical rewiring at primary and secondary schools which are over 50 years in order to avoid any untoward incidents.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said records show that 10,176 primary and secondary schools nationwide have main buildings that are over 50 years old.

"Many school buildings were built after 1960 and after 10 to 20 years, they added a new building, fixed the old ones in bits and pieces.

"Some schools need to go through electrical rewiring. According to Public Works Department (PWD) engineer, electrical wiring in a building need to be reviewed after 20 years," he said told reporters after launching ExxonMobil-Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Science, Technology and Mathematics (STEM) Club held at SMK Sri Pekan, here Sunday.

The event was also attended by Education director-general Tan Sri Dr Khair Mohamad Yusof, UKM Vice-Chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Noor Azlan Ghazali and Pahang Education Department Director Datuk Rosdi Ismail.

Mahdzir said rewiring work will be carried out in stages from the end of this year and priority will be given to the older schools.

At the same time, he said that the ministry have also allocated funds for rehabilitation of 1,800 laboratories in secondary schools to enable them to be reused by the students for practical science experiments.

He said the cost of repairing laboratories is about RM100,000 each which include new equipments and the repair works will commence next year.

Meanwhile, in his speech, Mahdzir said the students' proficiency in Science, Technology and Mathematics (STEM) was still low, st below 40 percent and wanted parents to help out the schools and teachers by playing a role in cultivating the children interest in the fields.

"The ministry welcome any efforts such as the one taken by ExxonMobil and UKM to enhance students' skills in STEM especially those from rural areas as it is in line with the country's policy on science and technology," he said. -- Bernama