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Kota Kinabalu: More than 40,000 pupils will begin sitting for their Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) examination today amid fears of an outbreak of conjunctivitis and the threat posed by flooding in many areas.State Education Department Director Datuk Jame Alip insisted the exam would go on come what may, as the education authorities are ready to face any eventually.

"There are 18 schools in Kota Belud involving 15 teachers and 228 pupils affected by the conjunctivitis virus.

Sixty of them will be sitting for their UPSR.

"So far, in Kota Kinabalu there are a total of 13 pupils affected by the virus. Seven pupils in SK Luyang contracted the virus and four will be sitting for it. In SK Tebobon, four Year Six pupils contracted the virus and two in SK Lapasan," he said.

Jame asked headmasters to seek advice from the Health Department to stop the spread of conjunctivitis among pupils especially the UPSR pupils.

"I urge all headmasters to separate pupils affected by conjunctivitis from the rest in order to stop the virus spreading," he said, adding that headmasters and chief invigilators must also comply with doctors who advise on pupils who have to be admitted in hospitals for further treatment.

"I also hope parents will take children who have symptoms of conjunctivitis to hospitals immediately. Those who are not required to sit for UPSR may apply for medical leave," he said.

Jame also highlighted concerns over the inclement weather of late.

"All District Education Offices (PPD) are required to cooperate with the district offices to ensure candidates can sit for the UPSR in the event of disasters especially flooding.

"I also hope that all District Officers will activate their respective District Public Examination Safety Committee 2014 as the circulars had been distributed to all District Education Offices throughout the State on Sept 3."

Jame said he believed the District Officers had formed their respective UPSR PPD Operation Rooms which are required to submit reports concerning the situation during the exam to the UPSR Operation Room in the State Education Department.

On the recent storm in Mabul that saw the roof of one of the blocks at SK Mabul blown off, he said all 32 UPSR candidates there would sit for their exam in another block.

"We received reports that the seas in Mabul are currently calm and we will immediately have the examination papers sent there," he said.

The storm occurred at 1.15am on Monday, ripping apart the school's wooden block roof and causing damage to four classes, an information centre as well as the Senior Assistant's office. The school has 14 support staff, 17 teachers as well as 187 pupils.

"A similar incident occurred on Oct. 12 last year on the same block.

I hope the teachers and staff will be patient in facing these challenges," he said, adding that the Semporna Distrct Education Office will take immediate measures to address the problem.

"We also decided to pay the school's site a visit and apply for allocations from the Ministry to repair the damage," he added.

However, there were reports about choppy seas, thus creating problems in sending the examination papers to SK Pulau Mantanani.

"I urge the officers concerned to contact the army or police to assist in getting the exam papers sent. Or else, we will consider renting a helicopter.

"We will make sure that all the exam papers reach the island as we do not want the examination to get disrupted," he said.

He said SK Kiulu pupils will sit for their UPSR examination as usual at another block of the school and not at the camps that had been set up due to the fire incident in March which destroyed three blocks.

Jame advised all schools not to stop candidates from taking their UPSR exam even if it concerns the schools' reputation.

There is a decrease in the total number of pupils sitting for their UPSR this year with 45,361 compared to last year's 46,366. However, there are additional examination centres, from 1,095 in 2013 to 1,098 in 2014.

There are a total of 39,420 UPSR candidates from Sekolah Kebangsaan with 996 examination centres, a total of 5, 564 UPSR candidates from Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) with 87 examination centres and 377 UPSR candidates from private schools with 15 examination centres set, Jame said.