KUCHING: About 500 schools in Sarawak are expected to close tomorrow due to the current haze.
Sarawak Education Department director Dr Azhar Ahmad said this was in accordance to an Education Ministry circular dated Jan 15, 2019, which ordered all schools to close if the Air Pollution Index (API) reading in the areas exceed 200.
“The instructions apply to the current haze situation," he said when contacted today.
According to the circular, all principals and headmasters must inform the District Education Office about the closure.
For areas with API reading exceeding 100, school authorities should stop all activities outside of the classroom, and suspend outdoor or sports activities.
Nevertheless, all examinations including public examinations are to continue as scheduled. However, the Examination Board will postpone the exams to another date to be decided later, if the API reading reaches 300.
According to the Department of Environment website, as of 12 noon today, three areas in Sarawak recorded unhealthy API reading of over 200.
The areas were Kuching at 241, Samarahan (213) and Sri Aman (220).
Meanwhile, seven other areas registered unhealthy API - Sarikei (155), Sibu (137), Bintulu (149), Mukah (133), Samalaju (132), Miri Industrial Training Institute (125) and Miri (126).
The haze is due to 1,000 hotspots detected in Borneo and Sumatra, Indonesia.