Students faint due to heat at makeshift classrooms

Deplorable conditions coupled with heat is not conducive to studying but PM Najib was quick to the rescue, thanks to Twitter.

KOTA KINABALU: Poorly built canopy classrooms that were initially a makeshift measure after Sekolah Kebangsaan Simpangan was destroyed in a fire last May, has resulted in several students fainting, sometimes a few times a week due to intolerably high temperatures.

A teacher who wanted to remain anonymous, told The Star, “Our conditions are not conducive to studying. It is very dusty here as well.

Referring to an 11-year-old who kept fainting all week, she said, “His mother told us that he never fainted at home so we wonder whether it’s the condition in the classroom.” There are 313 students in the school.

About a dozen schools in Sabah are said to be in a similar predicament, with classrooms devoid of walls or furniture and students subjected to intense weather conditions.

The makeshift schools were set-up after their schools were either destroyed by fire or landslides last year. The situation has affected over 2,000 students.

This particular school’s condition gained widespread attention after a picture of it went viral on Twitter recently, catching the eye of the Prime Minister himself, who immediately directed the Chief Secretary to the government, Ali Hamsa to investigate the matter and take prompt action.

Najib has since ordered for an immediate reconstruction of the school, worth RM2million.

“This should not have happened,” lamented the Prime Minister.

RM48 million has already been allocated for the reconstruction and repair of several schools in Sabah, according to the secretary-general to the Education Ministry, Madinah Mohamad.