The Ministry of Education is committed to providing safe and conducive learning environment for students and school staff in Sabah.

Senior Minister (Education) Dr Radzi Jidin said the ministry had been working hard to draw up the best education plan for children in the state.

However in making sure that the implementation process goes smoothly and quickly, he said, it was important that the state government is aligned with the federal government.

"Teachers need to help the ministry to ensure that plans for the children in Sabah can be speeded up and are well-implemented," he told a press conference after visiting Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bandaraya here today.

Radzi said good relationship between the state and federal governments would have a positive impact on the future of children in Sabah.

He added that there there are 41,271 teachers in Sabah and of that number, 34,724 have registered and are eligible to vote.

A total of 689 schools would be used as polling stations throughout Sabah and 7,684 teachers would be involved in the management of the Sabah state election.

Meanwhile, in a statement distributed after the press conference, the Education Ministry informed that so far, 466 schools are in a dilapidated state, with ratings of six and seven on the scale and are not safe for occupancy.

This year, 65 dilapidated schools have been given allocation for upgrading works and the tender for contracts for 25 schools have been advertised while tender advertisements for the remaining 40 schools would be issued in stages.

-- BERNAMA