Public and private schools on three main roads in Phnom Penh have been ordered closed for the duration of the ASEAN summit.

The Education Ministry, in conjunction with City Hall, has ordered the 12 schools and universities on Russian Confederation, Norodom and Mao Tse Tung boulevards to shut down for three days.

The unprecedented step had been taken in order to ease traffic and ensure security for the convoys of ASEAN delegations, officials said.

Bouy Bunna, adviser at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, played down the effects of the closures and passed responsibility for compensating for time lost to teaching staff.

“This three-day closure may affect the academic program of the students, but should not be a problem because the teachers can make up extra classes,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tep Nimol at [email protected]