Haze: Over 2,000 schools closed, affecting close to 2 million students

PETALING JAYA: Close to two million students in over 2,000 schools will be affected by school closures in several states this week, following the worsening haze condition.

A total of 2,459 schools in Selangor, Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kedah, Perak, Negri Sembilan and Sarawak are scheduled to be closed, following the Air Pollutant Index (API) exceeding 200 in these areas on Wednesday (Sept 18).

The school closure affects a total of 1,732,842 students, said the Education Ministry in its latest statement on Wednesday night (Sept 18).

The schools in Kedah, Perak, Negri Sembilan and Sarawak will only be closed on Thursday (Sept 19), whereas those in Selangor, Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur and Penang will be closed on Thursday (Sept 19) and Friday (Sept 20).

Selangor has the most number of schools closed at 939, and also the largest number of students involved, or 911,874 students.

With 243,972 in a total of 399 schools, Penang has the second largest number of schools closed and affected students.

Putrajaya has the least number of closed schools at 25, and also the least number of students, at 27,531.

Kuala Lumpur will see a total of 296 schools closed, involving 217,657 students while Sarawak will close 373 schools, affecting 157,466 students.

A total of 250 schools in Perak and 124 in Kedah will be closed on Thursday (Sept 19), involving 88,028 and 58,241 students respectively.

Meanwhile, Negri Sembilan has the second least number of closed schools at 53, affecting 28,073 students.