KUALA TERENGGANU: Thirty-three schools in Terengganu will not reopen in the new year as scheduled tomorrow.
The floods have made sure of that.
These schools are either flooded, the access roads are flooded or they are being used as flood relief centres.
Terengganu Education Department director Shafruddin Ali Hussin said the schools were located in five districts, with the highest number of 22 in Hulu Terengganu.
Five schools were affected in Marang, three in Kuala Terengganu, two in Setiu and one in Dungun, he said.
Safruddin Ali said six schools in Hulu Terengganu hit by the floods were Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Teris, SK Tapah, SK Tengkawang, SK Kuala Ping, SK Kua and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Bukit Diman.
"Sixteen schools in the district cannot operate tomorrow because the access roads are flooded. They are SK Padang Setebu, SK Sungai Berua, SK Sungai Buloh, SK Kuala Jenderis, SK Matang, SK Lubuk Periuk, SK Bukit Tadok, SK Nibong, SK Betong, SK Pereh, SK Felda Tersat, SK Menerong, SK Cheting, SK Padang Setar, SMK Menering and SMK Kuala Jenderis," he said to Bernama.
He said SK Sentol Patah in Marang was flooded while four other schools - SK Kubu, SK Pengkalan Berangan, SK Bukit Gasing and SMK Merchang - were being used as flood relief centres.
In Kuala Terengganu, he said, three schools were flooded, namely SK Kampung Bukit in Chendering, SK Undang and SK Padang Midin.
"In the Setiu district, two schools have been closed," he said, adding that SMK Langkap had been turned into a flood relief centre while SK Merbau was flooded.
Safruddin Ali said SK Seri Paka in Dungun was closed because it was flooded.
He advised parents of school-going children to keep tabs on the situation at the respective schools, saying they would only reopen when the floodwaters receded. -- Bernama