KUCHING, Oct 19: A total of 680 schools in Sarawak have been classified as unsafe for occupancy, highlighting the scale of the State’s dilapidated school infrastructure problem and the urgent need for upgrading works to provide safer learning environments for students and teachers.

Minister for Education, Innovation, and Talent Development Sarawak Dato Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn said the schools were classified under Scale 6 and 7, indicating the need for substantial investment in infrastructure upgrades and improvements across Sarawak.

On ongoing works, he said 86 of the 140 dilapidated school projects funded under the RM1 billion advance payment allocation were completed, while the remaining 54 were at various stages of implementation.