Auditor-General’s Report: More than a quarter of Sarawak schools have serious defects

KUCHING: More than a quarter of schools in Sarawak have "serious defects" that are "risky to use", the latest Auditor-General report finds.

A whopping 388 schools out of 1,452 schools in Malaysia's largest state were either deemed to have inferior quality of buildings or poor maintenance, said the third and final A-G report for this year.

The poor state of these schools was despite the A-G giving the thumbs up to on-going and completed repair and renovations projects.

The infrastructure of 124 schools "had serious defects that require immediate and urgent repair".

These defects include decayed wooden structures, obsolete steel structures, damaged concrete structures, soil erosion, damaged sewage systems, termite infestations, damaged walkways, leaked roofs and ceilings, faulty drains and obsolete electrical wiring systems.

The report made four recommendations, highlighting the need for more funds. "The Finance Ministry should seriously consider the Education Ministry's application for allocations and requirement to carry out the repair and maintenance of serious defects or damaged school infrastructures in Sarawak."

No other state was singled out for poor infrastructure in the report.

There are 1,265 primary and 187 secondary schools in Sarawak.