May 10 Is D Day For Sjk Ladang Jeram S Container Classrooms

---

 
The fate of SJK(T) Ladang Jeram, near here, whose new school building is still incomplete after more than two decades, will be known on May 10. - NSTP/MUHD ASYRAF SAWALKUANTAN: The fate of SJK(T) Ladang Jeram, near here, whose new school building is still incomplete after more than two decades, will be known on May 10.
Setbacks over the years have forced pupils to attend lessons in makeshift classrooms, including in cabins.
There seems to be no end in sight for the school's woes despite visits by numerous politicians from several parties over the years.
A source said an engagement session involving the school's stakeholders at the Pahang Education Department in Indera Mahkota here on May 10 would focus on SJK(T) Ladang Jeram and the new school premises.
"Representatives from the Education Ministry's school management division and educational planning and research division will be joined by officers from the Pahang and Kuantan education offices.
"The state Education Department seems to have little say on the matter, so it is best for officers from the ministry to decide on the status of the school.
"The matter is now in the hands of the Education Ministry, whose representatives have visited the school to gather information in February.
"The May 10 session will determine whether SJK(T) Ladang Jeram will get a new building or something else," said the source when contacted.
The source said other matters that could be raised at the session include what happened to the funds that were approved for the school project in 2014 and whether the money was returned to the Finance Ministry.
"The initial cost in 2014 was RM9.5 million, before it went up to RM14.5 million.
"Earthworks and land clearing were carried out before the project was abandoned when the contractor encountered problems in 2018. How much of the allocation is left?"
It is learnt that a dialogue to discuss the fate of SJK(T) Ladang Jeram involving the state and district education officers was held on April 14, but no decision was made.
Semambu assemblyman Chan Chun Kuang said the May 10 session was vital to determine the status of the school project and the proposed solutions to help end the school's long-standing woes.
On Feb 22, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek's political secretary, Atiqah Syairah Shaharuddin, visited SJK(T) Ladang Jeram to gather information from the school's management.
It was reported that the construction of the RM14.8 million new school building, which was supposed to have been completed in August 2016, was extended to November 2018, but was later halted when the contractor faced issues.
The original wooden structure of the school, built by Jeram Estate Sdn Bhd in 1952, was torn down when the estate was sold to Pasdec for a residential project in the mid-1990s.
Until today, teachers and pupils still to use cabins measuring 30m by 40m for classes. This was supposed to be a temporary arrangement until a new school building was built. The cabins once served as temporary offices for the Bandar Damansara housing developer.
The school, nestled amid oil palm trees along the Jalan Kuantan bypass here, has electricity and water supply.
The school produced a straight A pupil in the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah in 2011. - NST

---