More than 30 parents of pupils at Sekolah Kebangsaan St Thomas in Kuantan today staged a protest over the proposed closure of the school next year.

Sekolah St Thomas Action Committee chairperson K Uma Selvam claimed the school would be permanently closed starting next year and called for the Education Ministry to address the issue immediately.

"The move taken by the church administration to issue an order for the school to be vacated from Dec 31 was made without the parents' knowledge.

"Even the ministry has not notified the parents about the evacuation order," he told reporters in Kuantan today.

Uma Selvam also urged the ministry to take into consideration the fate of over 500 pupils should the school be closed next year.

Meanwhile, Pahang Education director Rosdi Ismail, when contacted, said that so far the ministry had not issue any evacuation order for the school and discussions on the claim for the school's site by the church, The Monfort Boys Town, were still ongoing.

He said any decision made to close any school must come with an official letter from the Education Ministry of Malaysia.

- Bernama