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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
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