KUCHING: The Primary Six students of SK St Raymond in Mujat, Serian will no longer sleep on the wooden floor as the school has been given a grant to purchase proper sleeping items.
The grant worth RM3,000, which was contributed by Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Chong Chieng Jen, was presented by DAP Serian Branch chairman Edward Andrew Luwak to the school’s headmaster Lawrence Meringa earlier today.
The 32 boarders, made up of 14 males and 18 females, have been sleeping in the two-room dormitory of the boarding school without beds or bunks.
During the handing over ceremony, Edward praised the teachers and parents for setting up a boarding school for primary six students.
The school block was previously an old store which was converted into a boarding school under the programme known as Asramaku Sekolahku.
Work to convert the store into a boarding school was carried out on Jan 16 this year and completed on Feb 6, 2019.
According to the headmaster, the objective of setting up the boarding school was to reduce absenteeism among primary six students.
He added that the final year in primary school was crucial for the student to prepare themselves for secondary education.
“With the students staying at the school’s dormitory, they have more time to concentrate on their studies. The school teachers are also able to give extra classes in the evening,” he said.
Meanwhile, Edward believed that the initiatives and encouragement put up by the teachers and parents would produce good results.
He also pledged to give some incentives to the school at the beginning of the next academic year if the students are found to be doing better than in previous years.
