PEKAN: SK Temai, the only school in the country yet to resume physical classes this year due to the northeast monsoon floods, is expected to commence lessons next week.
Education Ministry's deputy director-general (Professionalism Development Sector) Shafruddin Ali Hussin said stagnant floodwaters or "banjir termenung" in the school compound has prevented pupils from returning for the new academic term on Jan 2.
"The Drainage and Irrigation Department will assist to pump water out of the flooded school compound later today before the cleaning process will be conducted over the weekend and we hope lessons can resume next week. The stagnant floodwaters are taking a longer time to recede.
"SK Temai pupils have been attending classes through home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) since Tuesday. We do not want pupils to miss their lessons so teachers are conducting lessons online similar to during the lockdown (Covid-19 pandemic)," he told reporters after visiting the flood-hit SK Temai here today.
Meanwhile, Shafruddin said to date, SK Temai is the only school in the country which remains closed due to the recent floods,which hit several states across the country.
"I visited SMK Paloh Hinai earlier today for the post-flood cleaning operations along with volunteers comprising teachers and ministry staff. Only Form Four and Five students are allowed to attend physical lessons this week.
"Students in Form One to Three have been attending online lessons since Jan 2 and the physical session for all students will fully resume as usual starting tomorrow (Jan 5). Three school blocks were affected in the floods," he said, adding that both SK Temai and SMK Paloh Hinai were affected by the recent floods here.
Meanwhile, Pekan district education officer Mohd Razali Mustafar said SK Temai was under 0.9m of water on Dec 27 and the water level has dropped to 0.48m today.
"We hope to drain out the water manually starting today so that lessons can resume as usual next week. If there are delays in pumping out the water, the school is preparing a multipurpose hall at Kampung Temai Hulu nearby for Year Four, Five and Six pupils to sit for their academic session final examination next week," he said.
SK Temai, which is 113 years old, has a total of 128 pupils including those from the Orang Asli community and 15 teachers.
For more than a decade, the school, which also serves as a temporary evacuation centre for flood victims from the nearby villages, has been experiencing floods from the nearby Sungai Pahang or peat swamp in the vicinity during the monsoon season.