Termite-hit school needs new wing

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MALACCA: The SRJK Bukit Beruang here urgently needs to rebuild a new wing following the collapse of one of its three blocks here last Friday.

The school’s board of directors chairman Ng Soon, 57, said no one was injured in the late Friday evening incident.

He said the 56-year-old school required a new wing, “and we need help from the Government.”

Ng said the collapse affected a section of the roof of the semi-wooden block that was converted into a store several years ago when termites began attacking the roof trusses.

Extensive damage: Several photographers from the local media having a closer look at the roof of one of the three blocks that collapsed at SRJK Bukit Beruang

Three single-storey semi-wooden blocks were built when the school was opened in 1953 to house some 50 students back then.

In the 1990s, all three blocks were used for other purposes when the school built two new three-storey blocks, he said when met here yesterday.

However, he said the school stopped using two out of the three original blocks about five years ago when termites damaged them.

Presently, Ng said there is a shortage of classrooms with the school using the library and science labs to conduct classes.

“We submitted a proposal to the Education Ministry on Aug 20, for funds to build a new three-storey wing to house 12 new classrooms.”

The school’s Parent-Teacher Association chairman Ryan Lim Seng Sin, 54, urged the ministry to speed up approval for a new wing.

The school has 709 pupils and enrolment is expected to rise as there are 14 housing estates in the surrounding area with more being developed, he added.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, who is the assemblyman for the area, said the state Public Works Department had been ordered to demolish the affected blocks.

“The blocks are unsafe and should be torn down to prevent any untoward incidents, he told reporters after visiting the school yesterday.

He added Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong has given an assurance that he would do his best to get the school the estimated RM1.8mil it would need to build the new wing or order 12 new cabin classrooms.