KLUANG, Sept 9 - The Ministry of Education (MOE) will continuously monitor the situation at several schools near the area affected by the chemical odour pollution incident in Johor Bahru.

Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the ministry would also seek recommendations and advice from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and other relevant agencies on whether there is a need to close the schools to ensure the well-being of students and teachers.

"School administrators must comply with and follow the steps outlined in the guidelines provided by MOE, particularly when dealing with pollution issues," she told reporters after launching the National Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Day at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Perdana here today.

On Wednesday, Johor Department of Environment (DOE) senior deputy director Mohd Rashdan Topa was reported to have said that ammonia gas with high concentration readings was detected during air quality monitoring conducted at Sungai Pandan, Kampung Melayu Pandan in Johor Bahru on Tuesday.

However, Mohd Rashdan said that air quality readings returned to normal during monitoring carried out the following day.

On the death of an eight-month-old baby boy at a nursery in Alor Gajah, Melaka, Fadhlina expressed her condolences to the baby's mother, Sabrina Hakiem Zaini, 39, who is also a teacher.

"This tragedy deeply affects us. MOE will do everything possible to provide the best support and psychosocial assistance to this teacher from time to time to ensure her well-being and welfare," she said.

Commenting on the event, she said that starting next year, approximately 10,000 schools across the country would celebrate TVET Day on June 2 each year. -BERNAMA