Sagah (second left) with others in a photo-call after the earth-breaking ceremony on the site of the new SMK Tarat hall.
SERIAN (March 24): SMK Tarat here will soon have a new hall after a two-year delay since the RM350,000 project was approved under the state Rural Transformation Project (RTP).
Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development Dato Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn said the two-year delay was not caused by the Ministry of Education (MoE), rather it was due to certain requirements from other agencies at the federal level.
He added that the project was expedited following a meeting with federal Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek last month where she announced that her Ministry had delegated some powers to the state Education Department to approve school projects.
“This has become part of our MA63 negotiations, and I’m glad to say that during my third meeting with Fadhlina on Feb 22, she brought the good news that MoE has delegated some powers to the state Education Director.
“Suffice to say, for RTP projects, the director can give the go-head this time,” he said when speaking at a meeting with the school here yesterday.
Sagah said the state government will continue to pursue education autonomy, including amendments on the Education Act 1996 and the Malaysian Constitution.
“This project will kick off today (March 23), and I hope the appointed contractor can be ready for it. I also want to see it done for the children in this school,” he added.
When met by reporters after the earth-breaking ceremony, Sagah said the project is expected to complete within six months, while expressing hope for the project to be done earlier than the given timeframe.
“The contractors have been given six months by JKR (Public Works Department) Sarawak to complete the project, which I think is very reasonable.
“If it is done diligently without any problem occurring, the project can be completed earlier than that,” he added.