KUALA LANGAT: School building projects that have long been abandoned will be completed, says Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin.

       His ministry is committed to completing these schools so that those living nearby do not need to travel far just to get an education.

       “We will ensure abandoned school projects, if they are still on the ministry’s list, will be given priority,” he told reporters after the handover ceremony of SMK Bandar Saujana Putra yesterday.

       Radzi said the condition of buildings abandoned for longer periods would worsen over time.

       “So, the cost to repair them will be much higher,” he said.

       He said Bandar Saujana Putra residents had to travel up to 20km away to the nearest school, with most of them having to begin the journey at 6am.

       Radzi also said the completion of these projects would help solve the problem of overpopulated schools.

       He added the ministry had obtained a budget under the first and second Rolling Plan of the 12th Malaysia Plan 2021-2025 to build schools in high-density areas.

       On a separate matter, Radzi said almost 14,000 teachers had been hired under the special recruitment drive on a one-off basis for 18,702 education service officers.

       “Only about 4,000 vacancies are currently available since the exercise began last July, with teachers receiving postings to Sarawak, Sabah, Selangor and Johor schools since October,” he said.

       “Normally, there are only 3,000 to 4,000 vacancies for teachers per year due to various reasons, including retirement.

       “However, when this gap is left empty for a long time, there is a lot of pressure on the schooling system, resulting in a lot of schools not having enough teachers,” he said.

       Radzi also said the highest number of teacher transfers was approved this year.

       “I believe more than 55% of the applications have been approved,” he said, adding that transfer approvals normally stood at around 20% to 30%.

       He said priority was given to teachers who had been waiting “a long time” for their transfer to be approved.

       New teachers would then be sent to these particular areas.

       This transfer exercise would also solve the problem of teacher shortages in these schools, he added.

       “Hopefully, once we complete the 18,702 one-off recruitment drive, we will be able to resolve vacancies immediately,” he said.