KLUANG: The recent rise in fuel prices and building material costs will not deter the implementation of the National Education Blueprint 2006-2010.

Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the ministry was working hard to ensure the progress of the national programme, which focused on prioritising national schools, enhancing the teaching profession and pushing for excellence in educational institutions, among others.

He said the report card of the blueprint was being tabled and made public twice a year and the ministry would not hide anything pertaining to its implementation.

"We are working hard so that everything goes according to plan. We are on the right track. The rising cost of fuel and building materials will not hinder us.

"We have also completed 50 per cent of the physical development of the programme," he said after opening a community programme at Felda Ulu Penggeli here.
As of last December, some 10,000 projects and programmes, worth RM22.35 billion were in various stages of implementation, while more than 2,000 projects and programmes worth RM2.8 billion have been completed.

Hishammuddin said all projects under the Eighth Malaysia Plan, that were perceived as "ailing" had also been salvaged.

"Problems such ceiling leaks in school laboratories or incomplete structures have been resolved. I am happy that everything is going well."

However, he said the ministry had to postpone several projects that involved land acquisition.

"We cannot determine when these projects will begin.

"We don't even know if they can be carried out during the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

"We are placing our focus on projects of more importance, especially the ones that can narrow the gap between rural and urban schools," he said.