The Education Ministry has ordered all 475 institutions of learning in the Pasir Gudang area to be closed from tomorrow until Thursday.

Johor Education Department director Azman Adnan said in a statement issued today, the closure was aimed at enabling the authorities concerned to address the source of contamination in the area.

The institutions comprise 111 primary and secondary schools, three institutions of higher learning, 14 private schools including international schools, and 347 private kindergartens, all of which are registered with the department.

All principals and head teachers have been requested to immediately inform students, teachers and parents, as well as other staff under their purview, of the closure and to take appropriate action, Azman said, adding that the department would continue to monitor the situation closely.

Beginning last Thursday, students and others at several schools in the area were reported to have experienced breathing difficulties, while the Department of Environment said yesterday that as part of its investigations into the actual cause of the incidents, it would beef up its monitoring of an illegal dumpsite in Pasir Gudang and undertake checks again in the Sungai Kim Kim area which was the scene of chemical waste contamination in March.

- Bernama