A culture to jointly maintain cleanliness of school toilets will be sowed among teachers, parents and students as a national agenda to be practiced from next year, said Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid.

For a start, he said, the ministry would not provide any incentive, but for schools to carry it out on voluntary basis.

"The segment on cleanliness will be a national agenda, but not by meting out punishment. We want them to do it voluntarily to make the practice a culture.

"Now we already have schools which can be regarded as having toilets with five-star rating. Start first by doing it willingly," he told reporters after opening the national conference for district education officers in Langkawi last night.

- Bernama