KUCHING: A total of 54 primary schools and nine secondary schools in the Bintulu division, comprising the Bintulu and Tatau/Sebauh districts, will be closed from Sept 7 to 11 due to haze, with home-based teaching and learning to be implemented during the closure.
The Sarawak Education Department said in a statement on Saturday (Sept 5) that the decision to close the schools was made based on continuous monitoring and Air Pollutant Index (API) readings reaching the very unhealthy level at 8pm on Saturday.
"The temporary closure of 54 primary schools involving 22,476 students and nine secondary schools involving 17,268 students under the Bintulu and Tatau/Sebauh district education offices will be from Sept 7 to 11, 2026," the statement said.
Based on data from the Environment's Department Air Pollutant Index Management System (Apims), Bintulu recorded an API reading of 206 as of 8pm on Sunday.
Overall, 617 primary schools involving 130,953 students and 93 secondary schools involving 107,350 students under 14 district education offices affected by the cross-border haze in Sarawak have been temporarily closed.
In the statement, the department said home-based teaching and learning would be implemented throughout the temporary closure.
Educational institutions were also reminded to stay updated by referring to APIMS to monitor API levels in their respective areas or districts and comply with recommendations issued by the Health Ministry from time to time to safeguard the health of students and education personnel. – Bernama
