GEORGE TOWN, Sept 11 — Prior permission has to be obtained by Mentri Besar or Chief Minister to visit schools under the Education Ministry, Penang Education director Shaari Osman said today.

He said it had been a tradition and a norm for state government leaders to obtain permission from the Education Minister to visit the schools.

"I thought the issue has been resolved. As I have explained, if the state leadership wants to come visit the schools, it’s better that permission be obtained from the Education Minister.

"It’s normal to do so because we have to protect the interest of the schools concerned. Even for members of the public, they have to get permission from the State Education Department, unless they are members of the Parents-teachers Association of the school concerned, but of the school holds an Open day, they are free to go,” he told reporters after visiting Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) Kwang Hwa here today.

Shaari said this in response to a claim by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng not being allowed to enter a Chinese primary school in Sungai Lembu, Bukit Mertajam , and was informed to obtain permission from the Education Ministry.

Lim, who wanted to visit SJKC Kampung Sungai Lembu last Sept 8 to hand over a cheque to the school’s board of governors, questioned why a chief minister was not allowed to enter the school and the need for him to obtain permission from the Education Minister to do so.

Meanwhile, Shaari said 21,656 students were sitting for the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) examination in the state, which began today, at  281 centres, including eight centres at private schools, involving 242 candidates.

He said of the 21,656 UPSR candidates in the state, 12,633 of them are from national schools, 7,946 are from  and 835 candidates from Tamil national-type schools.

He said for candidates were taking the examination at three hospitals and seven candidates were children with special needs. — Bernama