Upgrading of six schools delayed due to rising
costs
SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Education has put its schools
upgrading scheme on hold, citing rising construction costs.
Six schools have had their plans deferred for a year and no new
projects have been announced for 2008.
When asked if there were plans for 2009, a Ministry spokesman said
it was too premature to decide.
Water-logged walls and cramped classrooms are just some of the
problems at CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School.
The buildings are 20 years old.
Massive renovation works had been scheduled for next year under the
Education Ministry's upgrading scheme, but this has been pushed
back till 2010.
Chan Wan Siong, Principal of CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School, said:
"Our original proposal was to have a big part of the school torn
down, and to rebuild the school. However with this new costing, we
are now re-looking at the plans to see what alternatives we can
find for the school."
A government-aided school like St Nicholas Girls' would have to pay
for 5 percent of standard items, and bear the full cost of
non-standard items. In comparison, government schools enjoy full
subsidies on essential upgrading works.
The government-aided school has to raise S$5 million, but its
alumni association says it has had difficulty meeting its original
fund-raising deadline, given the economic woes of recent
months.
Under the original schedule, they would have had to raise $4
million by this September. But it has so far raised less than half
the amount - about $1.96 million, and needs to come up with another
$2 million by next August. If it does not, then only the essential
items, like enlarging the size of classrooms, will be given the
green light.
So an extra year would come in handy.
Dazhong Primary, another school which had its upgrading works
postponed, says the delay is not a big issue as the additional
classrooms are not urgently required.
Some like Chung Cheng High say the additional year will allow for
better planning and this may result in a shorter renovation
period.
Other schools are - CHIJ St Theresa's Secondary, Jurongville
Secondary, and Juying Secondary. They were among 16 schools slated
for upgrading in 2007.
Aside from schools, the government also announced in July this year
that it would postpone certain public sector projects, due to
rising construction costs.
Another programme that has been put on hold is the building of
indoor sports halls in every school. When announced in 2006, it was
expected to cost the Education Ministry S$690 million over seven
years. But with cost pressures on the rise, this means that 25
schools won't be getting the go-ahead this year. -
CNA/de