SHAH ALAM: All schools in Selangor have been told to cancel overseas trips to Zika-affected countries during the week-long holidays which begin on Monday, as well as those planned in the near future.
Selangor state education director Mohd Salleh Mohd Kassim said the decision was made by the school management division, which represented the Education Ministry in a meeting held in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
“We were reminded that visits, especially those that involve school children and teachers to Singapore or the Philippines, are to be cancelled, particularly ones where they are set to go in the nearest time. We do have many schools which had applied to organise overseas trips during the holidays in the past month or two.
“There are applications for trips to Singapore and luckily, we were able to inform them early to have it cancelled. We have disseminated the information to all district education officers who have also conveyed the message to school headmasters.
“They are aware that they have to cancel their overseas trips. Based on feedback from parties such as the Chinese primary schools’ council of headmasters, they have taken note of the cancellation advice and accepted the decision,” said Salleh.
Salleh was met after the closing ceremony of the Selangor state education 2016 Merdeka month and Malaysia Day celebrations today.
So far, there have been no reports from headmasters on schoolchildren showing Zika symptoms, said Salleh.
Salleh said directives have been issued to school headmasters, urging them carry out gotong-royong sessions to get rid of potential mosquito breeding grounds.