KUCHING, Jan 3 ― The Sarawak government has asked the State Education Department to request the Education Ministry to continue supplying diesel to 21 rural mission schools in the state to power their generator sets.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said the federal government supply of the fuel was scheduled to end in March, and the state wanted the supply to be continued until the end of the year.
He said he learned of the matter at a meeting with officials from the State Education Department today and told the department to write to the Education Ministry to request for the supply to be continued until December.
“If there is no response by March, the state government will have to step in. We cannot allow the students and teachers to suffer and classes to be interrupted. We will have to find a solution to help the schools before the end of March,” he said.
Uggah chaired the meeting as he is also in charge of UNIFOR (Unit for other Religions) which looked into the interests of and solved the problems faced by the other religions, besides Islam, in the state.
He expressed the hope that the State Education, Science and Technological Research Ministry could help to link 17 of these schools to the state power grid before March as it had the funds for the purpose.
Deputy State Secretary (Rural Transformation) Datuk Jaul Samion; UNIFOR director Datuk Dr Ngenang Janggu and representatives of the Sarawak Energy Board; Education, Science and Technological Research Ministry and Christian faiths running the schools also attended the meeting. ― Bernama
