KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry has no plans to have medical officers assigned in schools.
Deputy Education Minister Senator Chong Sin Woon said teachers are trained to give immediate aid to students with health problems.
"They are required to carry out necessary steps (in case of emergencies) including informing the parents immediately and sending students to a nearby clinic," he said.
Chong was speaking in reference to Monday's case of a Year Six school prefect from SK Sg Pusu, Gombak who died after collapsing in a classroom.
He said the ministry would wait for the post-mortem report on the student before deciding on the next course of action.
"We have carried out the necessary action with regards to this case. I was made to understand that the student did not have a history of health problems and this is a very unfortunate incident," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.
Chong was commenting on a suggestion by Senator Datuk Mohd Salim Mohd Sharif during the question-and-answer session earlier to have a medical officer at each district to train school teachers on emergency responses.
"The 3K, which is Keselamatan, Kebersihan and Kesihatan (Safety, Cleanliness and Health) should be revisited by the ministry in light of recent cases of students bitten by snakes and the latest incident of a female student who died after collapsing in school," he said.