KOTA KINABALU: A total of 218 out of 338 projects to reconstruct dilapidated schools in Sabah have been completed to date, says Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek.

She said 60 projects were currently under construction and expected to be completed soon, while the remaining 60 projects were still in the planning stage.

“All these improvement projects involve an allocation of over RM3 billion. We hope that all our planned projects can be expedited to provide facilities for our children to study in a more conducive environment.

“The Ministry of Education is committed to ensuring that all education issues in Sabah are addressed. The quality of education in Sabah will continue to be enhanced for the benefit of our children,“ she told reporters after inspecting the implementation of the Sekolah Bimbingan Jalinan Kasih (SBJK) Kota Kinabalu Outreach Programme at SK Sembulan here tonight.

Commenting on the outreach programme, she said it was important in the effort to find more children without documentation here to provide them with the opportunity to enroll in SBJK Kota Kinabalu.

Asserting that education was the right of every child, Fadhlina said SBJK Kota Kinabalu, which was established in October last year, currently had eight students, and hoped that more undocumented children could be given education to change their lives.

“SBJK focuses on children without documents, where one parent, guardian, or caregiver is a Malaysian citizen, and they are not attending school. We want to provide educational opportunities to these children,“ she said.

Fadhlina said SBJK Kota Kinabalu was a continuation of the initiative established in Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur in 2013, which had been proven successful in providing educational opportunities to undocumented children.