The Johor State Education Department (JPN) will decide whether the 111 schools in Pasir Gudang, Johor which closed due to toxic waste pollution in Sungai Kim Kim, need to replace their school days, said Education Minister Maszlee Malik.

He said at the moment the ministry was more concerned about the students’ safety.

"All announcements on whether the holidays need to be replaced or not will be subject to a decision taken by JPN. Currently, the ministry is focusing on the safety of the students," he told reporters after officiating the Education Administrative Assistants’ Convention in Kuala Lumpur today.

The ministry had earlier reported that the 111 schools would remain closed until after the first term break. The term break is from March 22 to 30.

Earlier in his speech, Maszlee proposed that the Union of Administrative Assistants (Education) Peninsular Malaysia establish cooperation with administrative assistants of private schools in working towards providing better service.

At the event he also declared Oct 1 as Administrative Assistants’ Day in recognition of their commitment to delivering the highest level of administrative support.

The one-day convention was attended by over 250 administrative staff from all over the country.

- Bernama