Parents wade through flooded access roads to ferry their children to school, and teachers step into knee-deep water to guide children over benches that serve as a bridge over submerged corridors.

Students and staff at the 82-year-old institution, which has an enrollment of 141 in eight classes, have endured floods 10 to 20 times a year since 2014.

Despite the challenges they have been facing, the Klang district education office continued to reject their application to move from its current location in Kampung Teluk Gong — until February 2025 when it was finally approved.

A 2ha site in Bandar Bestari, located 4.18km away, has been gazetted, with construction slated to begin in June.

However, there is a problem — there is not enough money to underwrite the cost of building a new school.

From village to industrial fringe

School board chairman Yeo Jue Chuan, an alumnus from the 1970s, said the school was once central to village life.

“Generations of my family studied here. But by the 1980s, factories began to encroach into the village, bringing pollution, heavy traffic, and frequent accidents,” told FMT.

In a test the school board conducted in Nov 2022, it recorded 1,566 vehicles driving along the main road leading up to the school from 7.30am to 8.30am, the peak hour.

During a visit, FMT observed long lines of lorries along the school’s only access road.

The narrow stretch is riddled with potholes, likely worn out by the constant pounding on the tarmac by heavy trucks moving in and out of the surrounding factories.

In fact, it was the traffic problem and the resulting pollution that prompted the school board to start its effort to relocate the school in 2013, a year before the frequent floods began.

Rain, clean, repeat

Senior assistant for student affairs Tang Mee Lin said when floods happen overnight, parents are notified and reminded to send their children to school in boots.

“In December last year, the water rose so high that teachers and parents couldn’t enter the school compound, so lessons had to be conducted on Google Meet,” she said.

Even during exam weeks, students had to cross flooded corridors on a makeshift bridge of benches to reach the hall and toilets.

“Sometimes, teachers even take turns carrying children from their parents’ cars and bikes into the compound,” Tang said.

With just a small cleaning staff, teachers and school board members have to lend a hand in cleaning up the classrooms before the first lesson of the day.

“But what’s most exhausting is when it rains again the next night. Each time, worms crawl up the walls and into classrooms,” Tang added.

Math teacher Lee Lay Chen said heavy rain and floods during lessons leave her students visibly distracted.

“They worry about whether or not their homes are flooded, since the surrounding area is low and water rises quickly. As a result, they can’t pay attention in class,” she said.

Tang said the disruptions have forced teachers to adjust lesson plans to minimise the impact on students’ learning.

“We always try different teaching approaches to ensure students’ academic performance is not affected, even in situations like this,” she said.

Relocation hurdles, funding gap

Relocation committee chairman Jason Lee said the district education office had turned down the school’s request for relocation three times since the efforts began in 2013. He said the officials had argued that issues such as traffic and floods were “manageable”.

But the Selangor irrigation department turned things around for the school. A survey it conducted in December 2023 showed that the school sat nearly a foot below the road level, and it was beyond the capacity of the drainage system to prevent frequent floods.

Armed with the report, the board resubmitted its application for relocation to the education ministry in early 2024.

The Bandar Bestari site was gazetted in October 2024, while full approval followed in February 2025.

But relocating the school comes at a steep price. The new campus is expected to cost RM30 million, and because the land now belongs to the government, the board has no assets to sell.

Since May 2025, the school has raised RM13.5 million through more than 200 fundraising drives and donations, largely from Chinese associations and temple events. Still, a RM16.5 million shortfall remains.

“More than 80% of Klang’s Chinese community already know about our relocation effort, and many ask why we don’t just get government support. We’ve tried everything we can on our own,” Jason Lee said.

The board is now appealing to federal and state authorities and corporations for special funding. Without it, he warned, the targeted 2028 opening could slip to 2029 or beyond.

“Right now, every time there is a downpour in the night, we are left in fear of another round of flooding, and that problem can only be solved by relocating,” he said.

FMT has reached out to the Klang district education office for comment.