A YEAR Three pupil was hurt when a toilet cistern became dislodged from its mounting and crashed onto her at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Perpaduan at Taman Perpaduan, in Ipoh on Tuesday.

State Education, Higher Education, Youth and Sports Committee chairman Khairudin Abu Hanipah, who disclosed the mishap, said the ceramic tank fell and struck the afternoon session student on her head while she was flushing the toilet after use.

“The student reported the incident to the teacher, and the initial action taken by the school was to take her to her mother, before being taken to Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital for treatment.

“An X-ray examination found no serious injuries to the student, and she was discharged to return home,” he said, at the closing of the ‘Rising Together’ programme, jointly organised by UKM-GSB and Felcra Berhad, in Ipoh today.

He said following the incident, the school was ordered to periodically monitor and ensure that toilet facilities are always in good condition, to avoid any more mishaps.

Khairudin said it was in line with the main agenda of the Education Ministry (MOE) this year to upgrade toilets, involving as many as 700 primary and secondary schools in Perak.

“Upgrade work is being coordinated by the state Education Department and it needs to be implemented until October with the allocation received, to provide safe and comfortable toilets in schools,” he said.

He added that the state Education Department is expected to set up a special committee to follow up with the upgrade, which could also involve other parties, including the Public Works Department, the Rural Development Office and the Implementation Coordination Unit, to see that work is carried out by the contractor according to the standards set.

On July 11, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek was reported to have said that the ministry had given each school three months to solve the problem of toilet maintenance, by channelling an allocation of RM70,000 per school.

Fadhlina said the ministry is currently in the process of distributing the funds, which it is hoped will make an impact on the cleanliness of school toilets. – Bernama, July 20, 2023.