The Penang government today criticised the Education Ministry for its ad hoc response in dealing with the haze situation, despite Minister Mahadzir Khalid saying he has “contingency plans” for schools.

“The minister says there is Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C in place until the SPM examination, but what exactly are those plans?” asked Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy.

Mahadzir was quoted in The Star as saying that the cabinet was very concerned about the haze situation.

“The situation is serious and moving into an emergency; issuing such statements is not doing us any good.

“If the haze situation worsens, will the ministry close schools indefinitely?”, said Ramasamy, who is also executive councillor on education.

He said education should be "decentralised" if the ministry was unable to deal with the situation as it needed a local response.

He denied blaming the haze on the federal government or Mahadzir, but said the minister was “inept” to respond to a situation that had been recurring for over a decade.

“This is why in other countries, education is under the local government or states, where speedier response is needed to deal with situations such as the haze,” he said at a press conference in Komtar today.

“In Malaysia, everyone depends on directives from the ministry; there is zero input from teachers, students, or society.”

No replacement classes

Ramasamy ( photo ) said it was time state education departments formed committees to deal with the haze.

He added that although he was in charge of the education portfolio in Penang, he was not briefed on Mahadzir’s contingency plans.

“It is time the ministry consulted state executive councils so that all can work together to find a solution,” said Ramasamy, who is the Prai assemblyperson.

“The problem is that education is so centralised but haze needs quick local responses.

“This just points to the fact that it is time to decentralise education or delegate the ministry’s powers to the state governments.

“The education minister is just dragging his feet and not coming up with a long-term solution,” he said.

He said many parents and teachers have called him up regarding the abrupt closure of schools, although it was a directive from the ministry.

So far, the ministry has directed some 7,000 schools to be closed in several states as the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading has hit more than 200, which is ‘unhealthy’.

Ramasamy also said there were no replacement classes for the days lost, especially for Forms 3 and 6 students taking their national examinations.

“Shouldn’t there be plans by now for teachers to continue teaching their students online?

“Instead, the burden has fallen on students and parents to find tuition teachers,” said Ramasamy.