JOHOR BARU: Crumbling infrastructure and high-tension cables close by are making the schooling experience for students and teachers at a rural vernacular school in Gelang Patah hazardous.
SJK (T) Gelang Patah has 192 students and 20 teachers and is a one session school.
The school first began in 1957 in Ladang Hock Lam, 10km from its present site.
In 2001, the school moved into new premises at Gelang Patah while its former location made way for a new housing estate.
Headmistress Ghohila Nagalingam said the school's enrolment, despite the hazards of dilapidated infrastructure and radiation from high-tension cables, is growing, making the current space insufficient.
She adds the school sits on 4.2 acres, but the classrooms, administration block and canteen occupy only one acre.
She said in 2001, when the school moved to its present premises, the status of the site was temporary. In 2013, the site was converted to permanent.
That was the school's only consolation, for the infrastructure deteriorated with time.
"Today we have leaks here and there, paint peeling off and other damage to the structure," she lamented.
She mentioned that most students were from middle income and B40 families. The parents' meagre incomes prevent raising funds from among them for improvements to the infrastructure.
She also told the New Straits Times the road leading to the school is ridden with potholes.
"Worse still, the floors of the classrooms are cracking, posing a danger to students.
She stressed that in one of the classroom the ceiling has already collapsed.
"The entire school's electrical wiring needs to be changed because of its age," she added.
She said the Parent-Teachers Association (PTA) and the Board of Governors (BOG) are striving to see how matters can be improved.
The outlook looks dire because of poverty and neglect by the authorities.
BOG chairman Kuppusamy Subramani bemoaned the danger posed by high-tension cables near the school.
He said the cables carry 132 kV (kilo volts), a load considered harmful due to electrical radiation, exposure to which reduces white blood cells in the body.
He called on the state government to provide an alternative site for the school.
School's PTA chairperson R Mohanambal echoed Kuppusamy's anxieties.
"We will start organising walkathons and other activities to collect funds for improvements to the infrastructure," she said.
She said the PTA had written letters to the Menteri Besar, but there has been no response.
Ghohila mentioned the school has shined in sports and academics.
"The school gained innovation awards at state and national levels, being champions in several science competitions," she said.
She appealed to former students to rally around the school to contribute to improving the physical infrastructure.
"The right to mother tongue education is a fundamental human right. The government has a responsibility to cater for it," she added.