Schools should stop outdoor activities if heatwave persists

KUALA LUMPUR : School heads have been told to stop outdoor activities if the weather gets too hot.

“A ministry circular empowers principals and headmasters, under such instances when the weather is too hot, to take action such as stop having classes outdoors,” said Deputy Education Minister Datuk P. Kamalanathan.

“If a school decides to close, it will need to replace the day but it does not have to do so if it has been instructed to close,” he said after opening the International Policy Dialogue on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Education 2016.

On Sunday, Kamalanathan said the ministry would decide if schools should be temporarily closed due to the heatwave.

He said since it was the school holidays now, children could stay indoor and minimise outdoor activities until the schools reopened next week.

On the dialogue, he said: “When we look at the applications that come in for universities, 60% of students are applying to enter the arts stream.

“The ministry is laying down the foundation work for STEM.”