BINTULU (Feb 17): It was very challenging for some parents here as the new school session opened today.

The recent severe floods, described as the worst ever recorded in Bintulu, had left many families struggling to prepare their children for school. Many had lost essential items, including school supplies and uniforms.

Nonetheless, some schools are allowing parents to pay the fees in installments, providing some financial relief during this difficult time.

For Goretti Seda, she initially had all the school supplies ready, but later, she had to repurchase most of them, which were ruined in the floods. Even worse, the disaster also damaged one of their vehicles, which is now still awaiting repairs at a workshop.

“I now have to take my husband to his job site, followed by dropping my children off at school for both morning and afternoon sessions,” said this mother-of-three, all of whom are in primary school.

For Nur Helena Abdullah@Laging Jingut from Rumah Hennry Diman at Jalan Kuala Tatau, Sungai Sebemban, this year has been the most challenging for her family.

She has not been able to earn a living, and the rough seas make matters worse. Her family relies on producing smoked fish to make a living, but without any catch, there are no sales.

“I can only afford to pay the school fees and exercise books for now. God-willing, when we have more income, we’ll buy new school uniforms for the children,” said Nur Helena, adding that she was thankful that her children understood their situation.

Nur Helena has three children, all studying at SMK Kemena. Two of them are in Form 4, while the youngest has just entered Form 1.

Another parent, Nurhidayah Abdullah, said with limited funds, she could only buy books for her two children attending SMK Assyakirin Sungai Plan.

“I couldn’t afford other essentials such as PE (physical education) uniforms, calculators, and the PTA (parent-teacher association) fees.”

Nonetheless, she was thankful that none of her children’s school supplies bought earlier were damaged in the floods, which also affected her area.

“The school also provides flexibility in paying the fees in instalments, at the discretion of the class teacher,” said Nurhidayah. “My hopes are not high – I just want to be able to provide all the school necessities for my children.”

Meanwhile, Siti Khadijah Ramlan said her children’s school preparations were complete despite the financial challenges brought by the disaster.

“My husband and I run a home-based food business, and the floods had a significant impact since we had to ‘take a break’ for quite a while due to disrupted supplies at the supermarkets.

“Many roads were impassable roads, making it difficult for us to conduct the deliveries as usual.”

Siti Khadijah said their residential area was less affected, so there was no damage to property and school items for the children.

The management at their children’s schools, SK Bintulu and SMK Bintulu, also allowed instalment payments.

“We will focus on school supplies such as uniforms and stationeries and paying fees, as the first week does not have any learning activities yet.

“God-willing, once the business has recovered, we will settle the remaining payments.”

When contacted, Bintulu District Education officer Samri Suhaili confirmed that all primary and secondary schools in Bintulu opened as usual today, and the first day of school had been running smoothly.