The school board’s chairman, S Selvaraja Chinnasamy, said they made the request for funds to the Prime Minister’s Office on Nov 23 and it was approved speedily.
“We thank the Prime Minister for acting on our request so quickly,” said Selvaraja.
“The money will be used to purchase eight acres of land in Batang Melaka, Jasin, about 30km from the school’s present location in Ladang Tebong, Alor Gajah, which was built in 1991.
“On our part, we would be raising funds for a school field, construction of a multi-purpose hall and an institution for religious activities,” he added.
The finance ministry, which is also under Najib, has stipulated three conditions on the school board in relation to the grant.
Firstly, accounts pertaining to the funds channelled to the school board must be made available to the Treasury and the Auditor-General’s Department for verificarion and audit.
Secondly, the school board is not allowed to use services of private consultants for the construction of the school.
Better environment
The third is that the school board prepares and publishes financial statements and expense reports to the finance ministry within six months upon the completion of the new school.
“We are glad that we have received the funds and now we can go to the implementation stage.
“We hope to be able to raise suffcient funds on our own to help the Indian community in Malacca to enjoy a better standard of living,” Selvaraja added.
The government allocated RM100 million in Budget 2012 for Tamil schools but it has been barely made use of by MIC which was tasked to manage the fund.
However, the swift approval of the RM330,000 to SJK (T) Ladang Tebong is something commendable.
The school currently consists of two blocks, the main one a brick structure and a wooden building now used as a canteen and a classroom for an intergrated living skills workshop.
There are 65 students, a principle and five teachers. The number of students at this school have been on the rise, thus the need for the relocation to a bigger and better enviroment.
(Source: www.freemalaysiatoday.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment