GEORGE TOWN: Teachers and students in all schools under the Education Ministry have been told to upkeep their toilets as the government had spent a whopping RM578.02 million for the purpose.
Deputy Minister Lim Hui Ying said the allocation was for the maintenance of toilets in 8,020 schools and non-school education institutions until the end of last month.
"I want to emphasise that after the upgrade we want all parties, including the teachers and students, to jointly take care of the cleanliness of the toilets and not just leave the task to the janitors.
"In general, schools receive RM70,000 for toilet maintenance. So far, only a handful of schools'
(toilet maintenance) have yet to be completed.
"For those which have been completed, we are satisfied with the progress.
"The one-off toilet maintenance allocation was made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is concerned about the safety and comfort of the teaching and learning environment for our students in schools under the ministry," she said today.
She was met after the launch of the Anjung Ketipang Payung SK Tan Sri P. Ramlee here today.
The toilet maintenance initiative is in line with the aspirations of the Prime Minister who wants clean and safe toilet facilities for the comfort of more than five million students and 409,161 teachers in the country, in line with the government's agenda in developing a Malaysia Madani.
Meanwhile, Lim said the ministry was aware of facility issues in schools, including urgent needs that require immediate action from the ministry.
"The ministry pays attention to these issues to ensure that students can learn in a conducive environment, especially for students with special needs as well as encouraging them to persevere in their learning," she added.
During today's ceremony, she announced a contribution of RM98,854.00 from the Projek Mesra Rakyat (PMR) allocation to SK Tan Sri P. Ramlee for the purpose of upgrading works.
