IPOH: The frequent flooding at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Lambor Kiri over the past 10 years, which has disrupted teaching and learning sessions sessions, has been identified as stemming from geographic factors and problematic drainage systems.
State Education, Higher Education, Youth, and Sports Committee chairman Khairudin Abu Hanipah said SMK Lambor Kiri has been facing frequent flooding for the past decade due to its location in a low-lying area surrounded by paddy fields and palm oil plantations.
"The Perak Tengah Irrigation and Drainage Department (JPS) also found that the existing drainage system, consisting of earthen ditches, is inadequate and cannot handle the large volume of rainwater runoff.
"This results in internal water from the school being unable to flow properly to the JPS drainage ditches.
"This school is also located near the main canal for Seberang Perak Irrigation, where, during the rice planting season, water must be channelled to the paddy plots, causing water levels to rise along the main canal," he said today.
On Tuesday, Khairudin visited the school along with the Perak Tengah district officer, Mohd Zaki Abdul Rahman; district JPS engineer Shaiful Zakuan Mohamad; and district Public Works Department engineer Ahmad Abdul Shahid Mohamad.
The visit, which aimed to assess the flood situation, was also joined by the deputy district Education officer of Perak Tengah, Baharuddin Shaid.
To overcome this issue, Khairudin said the JPS has installed two flap gates on Oct 7, 2022, and Aug 25 of last year, in the drainage area to reduce the impact of flooding in the school.
"A mobile pump was also installed by the JPS on Oct 9 this year to remove stagnant water from the school area," he said.
It was reported by Sinar Harian on Oct 6 that parents of SMK Lambor Kiri students expressed concerns for their children's safety and comfort due to flooding issues at the school.
The school's Parent-Teacher Association (PIBG) president, Megat Mahmud Megat Yussof, was quoted as saying that students and teachers have to work together to clean affected classrooms each time there is a flood, further disrupting teaching and learning sessions.
The flooding situation forced candidates for the 2024 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) to take their trial exams in the school hostel recently, as the classrooms were inundated.