Boarding pre-school to be established in Semporna

A BOARDING school for pre-schoolers worth RM2 million ($83,718) will be built next year for poor children from the islands around Semporna, said Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.

He said upon completion, the first-of-its-kind boarding school in this country would be able to take in 80 children at a time.

The boarding school, he said, was an effort to provide education opportunities to island children like those enjoyed by their urban counterparts.

"We know how difficult it is for most of the parents to send their children to pre-school because some islands are very far and require a long journey by boat.

"To facilitate pre-school education for their children, we are building a RM2 million ($83,718) hostel. We feel there is a need for it here and we will set up more should it be required in other places, depending on our financial capacity," he said.

Shafie said the hostel was like any other, offering food, learning facilities and tuition to its boarders, adding that parents were welcome to visit their children weekly to find out their progress. Bernama