Education Ministry suspends all water-based outdoor activities

KUALA NERANG: All schools nationwide have been ordered to suspend all water-based co-curricular activities with immediate effect following the death of a teacher from rat urine infection in Kedah, yesterday.
Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid (pix) said the temporary suspension will be enforced while a study is conducted by a special committee from the ministry on the issue.
"The ministry has decided to suspend all co-curricular activities involving water, such as at rivers, waterfalls or areas prone to attacks (rat urine infection) like this.
"We will do a study, we did not expect this incident to be so serious, so I requested the Director of Education and the ministry's task force to study the matter, and only after that we will consider when to allow the activities to resume," he said after attending the Padang Terap Umno Division Delagates' meeting here, today.
Yesterday, a teacher from SMK Tunku Seri Indera Putera, Ayer Hitam, Mohd Yusri Yaccob died at Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah after he was believed to have contracted leptospirosis.
He had reportedly visited Sungai Ketil on July 15, along with several teachers and students for kayaking and mountain climbing activities in the area.
However Mahdzir said the directive would only apply to water-based activities, so all other outdoor activities could be carried out as usual. — Bernama