Standard 3 pupil hit on head by falling toilet cistern

A Standard Three pupil was hurt when a toilet cistern became dislodged from its mounting and crashed down on her at SK Perpaduan at Taman Perpaduan in Ipoh on Tuesday.

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

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

"An X-ray examination found no serious injuries to the student, and she was discharged to go home," he said after officiating an event in Ipoh yesterday.

He said following the incident, the school was ordered to periodically monitor and ensure that toilet facilities are in good condition, to avoid any more mishaps.
 
Khairudin said it was in line with the education ministry's main agenda this year to upgrade toilets at 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 this October with the allocation received, to provide safe and comfortable toilets at schools," he said.

He added that the state education department was expected to set up a special committee to see through 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 was in the process of distributing the aid, which it hoped would have an impact on the cleanliness of school toilets.