OCTOBER 14 — Every time haze threatens Malaysia, we seem to rehearse the same routine. Air quality deteriorates, parents become anxious, authorities monitor the Air Pollutant Index (API), and schools eventually announce temporary closures. Teachers scramble to distribute assignments, parents reorganise their schedules, and students wonder whether they are enjoying an unexpected holiday.

But here is an uncomfortable question: After years of experiencing haze, why are we still treating school closures as educational surprises? Closing schools protects children from hazardous outdoor exposure. That decision must never be compromised. However, protecting children’s health and sustaining their education should not be competing priorities. 

Malaysia needs a National Haze Emergency Learning Framework, not another collection of last-minute WhatsApp instructions.

First, the Ministry of Education should introduce a Haze Learning Protocol that schools can activate immediately when closures are announced.

Rather than replicating normal timetables through exhausting online lessons, teachers should implement flexible, age-appropriate learning activities that students can undertake safely at home. A closure should not automatically translate into six hours of Google Meet sessions or endless worksheets. Educational continuity is not measured by screen time.

Second, why not transform haze itself into a nationwide learning opportunity? Imagine students becoming Young Environmental Detectives, examining official API readings, investigating pollution sources, comparing environmental policies and proposing practical solutions. Mathematics becomes data interpretation.

Science becomes environmental investigation. Language learning becomes persuasive communication. Moral Education becomes a discussion about responsibility and environmental justice. Suddenly, learning becomes relevant to the very crisis disrupting their lives.

Third, the ministry should establish a 72-Hour Learning Readiness Plan. Every school should have prepared learning resources that can be activated during the first three days of closure.

These should include digital and offline options, clear communication procedures and reasonable expectations for teachers, students and parents. Importantly, learning materials must not assume that every household possesses multiple devices, reliable internet connectivity or parents available to supervise lessons. Educational emergencies must not become another mechanism for widening inequality.

Fourth, teachers should be empowered to prioritise meaningful learning rather than syllabus completion.

A student who critically examines the environmental consequences of open burning may gain more educational value than one who mechanically completes twenty pages of exercises. Assessment should likewise emphasise reflection, problem-solving and authentic evidence of learning rather than submission deadlines.

 Finally, school closures should become opportunities to strengthen environmental citizenship. Students must understand that haze is not merely an inconvenience requiring face masks and closed windows. It raises questions about sustainability, governance, economic activities and collective responsibility. We cannot repeatedly teach environmental responsibility in classrooms while treating environmental emergencies as administrative interruptions.

The Ministry of Education has an opportunity to demonstrate that educational resilience means more than keeping lessons running. The question is no longer whether schools should close during hazardous haze. They should, when safety requires it. The question is whether our education system is sufficiently prepared to ensure that learning remains meaningful when they do. Malaysia must stop improvising every time the skies turn grey. The haze may be beyond the school gates, but educational preparedness must begin within them.

*Muhammad Noor Abdul Aziz and Mohd Isha Awang are associate professors at the School of Education, Universiti Utara Malaysia

** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.