KOTA KINABALU: Everytime it rains, teachers posted in the remote district of Pitas sigh with worry and trepidation.On normal days, some have to walk or drive to school on untarred roads that are bad but when it rains, the roads get so bad that they cannot make it to school."For some, it is a one-and-a-half hours’ walk to school. They cannot wade through the road and have to miss school," said district education officer Gulkan Bisari. "When it rains continuously for days, the roads won’t clear up," he said. There are 31 primary schools in Pitas, and a handful of those are badly affected, such as SK Nibang, which is a one-and-a-half hours’ walk away for its teachers and students. Others badly affected are SK Maringgan, SK Manggis, SK Liu, SK Bawing and SK Mangkapan."Other schools also have the same problem, but not quite as bad as these few," he said.The problem has been brought up to the state Education Department and since 2001, roads and bridges were built and this has solved the problem for several schools.Pitas is one of the poorest and most rural districts in Sabah. Its state assemblyman Datuk Masrani Parman had raised the matter during the recent state assembly sitting.

**Tahun depan genap 50 tahun negara kita merdeka, sepatutnya keadaan menjadi lebih baik.