KUCHING: Sarawak did not make it to the federal list of states having new aided Chinese primary schools (SJKC) because the state does not need this new facility.

Pointing this out yesterday was Deputy Education Minister Datuk Chong Sin Woon, who said Sarawak already had a high number of SJKC, most of which are having low enrolment.

He opined that some relocation works would help Sarawak meet the rising needs of SJKC rather than having Putrajaya approve new ones.

“Based on the records that we have, the two states that are in dire need of new SJKC are Selangor and Johor. That is why in the recent list released by the Education Ministry, of the 10 new schools announced, five are in Selangor while the remaining five in Johor,” he said.

He made these remarks when met by journalists after handing over special education allocations worth over RM8.8 million to 184 SJKC and 10 national type secondary schools across the state during a ceremony at the state Education Department here.

Chong explained that the federal government’s decision to approve SJKC was based on needs and did not mean that other states would not see new SJKC after the recent announcement by the ministry.

To a question, he said the licence would not be revoked even if an SJKC was relocated and the Education Ministry would lend a helping hand as far as relocation fund was concerned.

He said the ministry would collaborate with the local authorities as well as the relevant developer when it came to school relocation projects.

He added that the ministry already had a comprehensive mechanism in place to deal with educational matters including relocation works.