Dream come true for school

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THE long-awaited wish of pupils of SJK (T) Gunung Rapat and their parents to move into a new building is set to materialise with the green light given to the school to relocate.

Perak Mentri Besar’s special adviser Datuk S. Veerasingam said the Ipoh City Council had agreed in principle to give up part of a 2.4ha vacant piece of land to the school to enable it to put up a structure.

“The land belongs to the state government but under the purview of the council.

“Although its total area is 2.4ha, the council can only allocate half of the land to the school.

Nice location: Roshidi (third from right) and Veerasingam (second from right) looking at the site in Ampang where SJK (T) Gunung Rapat is proposed to be relocated.

“The rest of it will go to several other parties who have applied for the land earlier,” he said after visiting the school and the proposed new site in Ampang on Tuesday.

He added that Datuk Bandar Datuk Roshidi Hashim would be forwarding the proposal to the state executive council, after this.

“All that needs to be done is for the state to agree to it. And if all goes well, the school will have a new building by next year,” added Veerasingam, who is also Perak MIC chairman.

Built in 1954, the current school sits on a 0.1ha piece of land on Jalan Besar in Gunung Rapat.

It does not have a field or computer lab while pupils and teachers are forced to put up with cramped conditions with only eight classrooms, a resource centre and a staff room due to insufficient land for expansion.

Headmistress P. Kamaladevi said the school had not undergone any form of development since it was established 57 years ago.

Nice to meet you: Roshidi (left) meeting one of the pupils of the school while Veerasingam (second from right) looks on.

She said the enrolment had been dwindling as parents refused to send their children to the school due to its lack of facilities.

“At present, we only have 182 pupils as compared to 232 pupils last year,” she said, expressing her gratitude to the school’s Parent-Teacher Association, state government and council for their help.

Roshidi, who was also present, said the 1.2ha was more than enough for a new building, a field and also reserve land for future development.

“The school should be able to double its enrolment after this.

“We are glad to have settled the matter fast,” he said.

State DAP deputy chief V. Sivakumar had previously accused the authorities of failing to assist the school in its bid to relocate and expand.