KUANTAN: The Education Department (KPM) will make sure that students affected by the air pollution in Pasir Gudang, Johor, are not left behind in their studies.
Education minister Dr Maszlee Malik said the ministry had a standard operating (SOP) in this matter and had dealt with a similar situation there before.
“The Johor Education Department has a good approach to tackling this issue. In fact, the KPM is following the development closely through information obtained from the state education office,” he said, adding that other parties were also providing official updates on the situation.
Maszlee was speaking to reporters after officiating the national-level Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Colloquium held at Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP), here today.
Also present were Director-General of Higher Education Datin Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir and UMP vice-chancellor Professor Dr Wan Azhar Wan Yusoff.
Following the latest incident of pollution in Pasir Gudang, which started last Thursday, many students suffered breathing difficulties and vomiting.
All educational institutions in the Pasir Gudang district have also been ordered closed until Thursday to allow authorities to work on clearing the pollution.
Asked if parents who want to take action including taking legal suits against those responsible for the pollution, Maszlee said it was up to them and not the ministry.
“The KPM is only responsible for what happens within the school compound such as education and the safety of the students, outside it, the parents have a right to do whatever they want (including taking legal action),” he said.
On a separate development, Maszlee said the Ministry had discussed with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad about additional allocation for the teaching and learning of science, which may be announced at a later date.
He said this additional allocation was important to achieve the 60:40 Science/Technical: Arts Policy as last year, only 44% of students in the country opted for STEM studies. - Bernama
