PUTRAJAYA - The Education Ministry has issued specific instructions to schools in flood-prone areas to ensure uninterrupted operation of the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examinations scheduled to begin next Wednesday.

Director-General of Education Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom said today these schools, especially in flood-hit Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah, had been instructed to identify alternative examination centres.

Contingency plan

"Schools in areas frequently affected by floods have to conduct the examination on the first floor," he told Bernama here today.

Alimuddin said examination candidates facing the possibility of floods in their villages or housing estates should be accommodated in school hostels on higher ground.

Principals should give priority to the safety of students, said Alimuddin, adding that they have the right to close schools if the floods become too dangerous for schools to stay open.

Boy the latest casualty

In Kelantan, floods have claimed a second life.

Six-year-old Mohamad Syakimi Sayuti drowned after falling into a canal in Kampung Pak Sek on Monday while playing with a younger brother and a friend.

The first victim was Mohd Mazlan Yajid, 28, who drowned on Nov 6 while taking a bath in Sungai Banggol Kerian in Pasir Puteh.

The situation in the state is improving with fine weather and the number of evacuees in two districts, Pasir Mas and Tumpat, standing at 3,643 this morning compared with 4,000 on Monday.

There were no more floods in other affected districts.

Kedah recovering

In Kedah, the number of evacuees dropped to 1,989 as at noon compared with 2,060 on Monday night.

A state flood operations room spokesman said Kota Setar district was the worst hit, with 865 evacuees in six relief centres while Pokok Sena district h ad 580 victims in one relief centre, Kubang Pasu (440) and Padang Terap (104).

The water level of Sungai Kepala Batas was 4.29m (danger level 3.8m) in Kota Setar while that of Sungai Pantai Johor was 2.43m (danger level 2m).