21 schools closed due to floods

PETALING JAYA: A total of 2,834 students from 21 schools in the country were unable to attend the first day of the new school session today due to the worsening flood situation.
Deputy Education Minister Datuk P. Kamalanathan said 20 primary schools and one secondary school were affected.
"The closure includes 11 schools in Pahang, three in Kelantan, Sarawak and Terengganu, and one in Johor," he said.
He added that the ministry was working closely with all state security councils and education departments to assess the flood situation in every state.
The schools affected in Kelantan are in the Kuala Krai district.
In PAHANG, floods forced 11 schools in three districts in Pahang to postpone their first day of the new school year today.
Pahang acting director of education Dr Tajuddin Mohd Yunus said these schools were located in the districts of Kuantan, Pekan and Jerantut and were either flooded or the access roads were submerged in floodwaters.
"In Kuantan, nine schools, with over 1,000 students and 140 teachers, were unable to begin the new school year today. They are Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Sungai Lembing, Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) (SJKC) Sungai Lembing, Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Nadak, SK Sungai Lembing, SK Sungai Emas, SJKC Panching, Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Tamil) (SJKT) Kuala Reman, SK Panching and SK Bukit Kuin.
"Two schools – SK Aceh in Pekan with 276 pupils and 28 teachers and SK Gintong in Jerantut with 28 pupils and 12 teachers – also could not reopen," Bernama quoted him as saying.
In JOHOR, Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Punan, Kahang, near Kluang, is closed for two days after the road to the school was inundated by flood waters.
State Health, Environment, Education and Information Committee chairman, Datuk Ayub Rahmat said the school had to be temporarily closed as 11 teachers residing outside the Kampung Punan area could not reach the school after being stranded along the laterite road across an oil palm estate.
"This road is impassable to vehicles and all the affected teachers took the next step of reporting themselves at the nearest school, SK Kahang, since yesterday," he said.
In SARAWAK, 330 pupils from three primary schools in Sarawak were unable to attend the first day of the new school year due to floods.
The Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee said in a statement issued at 8am today that the schools were Uma Sambap National School (SK) in Belaga and SK Beliau Ahad and SK Rumah Essau, both in Subis.
"SK Uma Sambap, which has 158 pupils, 15 teachers and nine administrative staff, is currently being cleaned up," it said.