KUCHING: Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik says his ministry is closely monitoring the haze situation in Sarawak, especially after the air quality in Sri Aman reached hazardous levels.
“District Education offices have been task to monitor the situation and follow the standard operating procedure if the situation deteriorates beyond the normal level,” he said when inspecting the new building blocks at SMK Sungai Tapang at Jalan Liu Shan Bang, here yesterday.
As of 6pm yesterday, the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading in Sri Aman’s was 416, while other parts in the state recorded moderate to unhealthy air quality.
An API reading of zero to 50 denotes good air quality; 51 to 100 (moderate); 101 to 200 (unhealthy); 201 to 300 (very unhealthy); and 301 and above (hazardous).
On Monday night, the Education Ministry ordered 298 schools in Sarawak – 53 secondary and 245 primary schools – to be closed due to the worsening haze.
The affected schools were in Betong, Bau, Kuching, Lubok Antu, Padawan, Samarahan, Sri Aman and Lundu, involving 128,291 students.