Sarawak to close 647 schools for five days from Sept 7 to 11 as haze persists

KUCHING, Sept 4 — A total of 647 schools in Sarawak will be closed for five days from September 7 to 11 due to persistent haze with no significant signs of improvement.

Sarawak Education director Omar Mahli said the closure involved 563 primary and 84 secondary schools across several districts, reported Astro Awani. 

The affected schools are under the Kuching, Padawan, Bau, Lundu, Samarahan, Simunjan, Serian, Sri Aman, Lubok Antu, Kanowit, Julau and Maradong district education offices.

Schools in other districts will continue with classes as usual.

“The decision was made after a meeting and a briefing by the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) on developments in the weather and haze conditions,” Omar said at a press conference here today.

“Based on our monitoring throughout the school holiday this week, the situation has clearly not changed much,” he said.

“So we have decided to close schools from September 7 to 11 in the affected districts,” he added.

As of 4pm, two areas in Sarawak recorded hazardous Air Pollutant Index (API) readings, with Serian at 514 and Kuching at 313, according to data from the Environmental Quality Management System.