KUALA LUMPUR, July 20 — The construction project for Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Tamil) (SJKT) Sungai Bakap, Penang, which has been delayed since 2015, is expected to be fully completed in the fourth quarter of 2027.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the project was continued after the Prime Minister approved a ceiling cost of RM12,667,367.59 with Yayasan Didik Negara appointed as the implementing agency.

She said the project included the construction of a full replacement block of the school building equipped with six classrooms, a general office, special rooms and other facilities on a site held by the Federal Land Commissioner.

“The tender advertisement for the project was issued on June 14, 2026 and the date of the Letter of Acceptance (SST) is expected to be issued in the third week of August 2026,” she said in response to a question from Senator Dr A. Lingeshwaran regarding the latest status, causes of delays and the government’s actions to resolve the issue of the construction of the Sungai Bakap SJKT at the Dewan Negara, yesterday.

Commenting on the reasons for the project’s delay since 2015, Fadhlina explained that it was due to several issues related to implementation, financial constraints and legal disputes.

According to her, although the School Governing Board had received a one-off special allocation of RM3.5 million from the federal government in 2015, the project failed to be completed within the stipulated period.

“This situation caused the project to be abandoned and gave rise to financial liability claims between the parties involved, which later led to court proceedings including against the Ministry of Education (MOE). However, the Sessions Court dismissed the case filed against the MOE in May 2026,” she said.

Meanwhile, Fadhlina said the MOE was prepared to review the Guidelines for Changing School Locations to address the issue of schools with fewer students, especially in SJKTs.

She said MOE was always open to reviewing existing criteria to ensure that educational priorities were given to all types of schools fairly, while also emphasising the importance of engagement sessions with the community to make school relocations successful according to local demographic needs.

“These SJKT issues involve community matters, and that is why engagement sessions are very important at the community level. Apart from the guidelines, our approach must also include engagement sessions,” she said.

Meanwhile, answering a supplementary question from Senator Datuk Anna Bell @ Suzieana Perian regarding the issue of abandoned schools in Sabah such as Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Langkon in Kota Marudu and Sekolah Menengah Sains Sabah in Kota Kinabalu, Fadhlina said she would provide a written answer as it involved specific details.

However, she assured that her ministry always paid serious attention to school infrastructure issues in the state. — Bernama