Schools located in areas recording Air Pollutant Index (API) readings exceeding 250 can close after notifying the Education Ministry.

The decision was made to protect the health of students during current haze, Education Department director-general Abd Ghafar Mahmud in a statement issued in Kuala Lumpur this evening.

NONE Ghafar ( left ) said a special meeting of the Committee on Haze Situation held at the National Security Council in Putrajaya today told the ministry to take this action based on the National Haze Action Plan.

He said based on the National Haze Action Plan, schools are required to close if the API reading surpasses 300.

Nonetheless, should the haze situation in the area impacted students or if the API reading was between 250 to 300, the local Education Department could refer to the ministry to consider closing schools, Ghafar said.  

He added that based on the National Haze Action Plan, all schools that were closed earlier should reopen when the API improved to less than 250.

In Kuantan, the 120 schools in Kuantan that were ordered closed today due to the haze will reopen tomorrow, acting Pahang Education director Rosdi Ismail said.

However, he said the schools would not be allowed to hold activities outside the classrooms for the time being.

"All teachers and students will return to school tomorrow and classes will resume as normal," Rosdi said.

He said the Education Ministry had also issued guidelines to all schools on how to face the haze problem.

haze in kl 120609 In another report, all schools and pre-school institutions in Malacca which were closed today due to the haze have been directed to open as usual tomorrow.

The announcement was made by Malacca Chief Minister Idris Haron through Melaka FM radio station this afternoon.

Yesterday, Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob ordered all schools in Kuantan and in areas badly hit by the haze to be closed today, following the unhealthy Air Pollutants Index (API) reading in the district.

According to the Department of Environment's (DOE) website, the API reading in two areas in Kuantan, namely Balok Baru and Indera Mahkota, at noon today still registered an unhealthy level at 198 and 171, respectively.

Meanwhile in another report by Bernama , all schools in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor may continue to remain closed tomorrow as the haze condition is worsening in the Klang Valley, said Natural Resource and Environment Minister G Palanivel.

However, he said the schools must receive the directive from the Education Ministry to this effect.

“I'll discuss and ask about it (possible closure) with Second Education Minister Idris Jusoh,” he told reporters after the swearing-in ceremony of MPs for the 13th Parliament at the Dewan Rakyat in Kuala Lumpur today.

'Parents can keep children away from school'

In another development, parents can opt to keep their children away from school in view of the current haze if they fear for their health, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said today. 

However, they must notify the school earlier, he added.

Muhyiddin, who is also the education minister, said in a statement that parents could contact the schools, the district education office or the state education department on the status of the school in the haze-affected areas.

Schools in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Malacca and in the Muar, Ledang and Segamat districts in Johor, Port Dickson in Negri Sembilan and Kuantan in Pahang were closed today.

- Bernama