JOHOR BARU: Parents in Johor are taking extra precautions to protect their children from the haze, with some ensuring they wear face masks and closely monitoring air pollutant index (API) readings as the school term resumed yesterday.
Civil servant Suhaila Khalid, 45, said she insisted that her Year Four son wear a face mask to school as the API in Kluang remained unhealthy at between 138 and 140 yesterday.
“Although there was no directive from the school for pupils to wear face masks, I have decided to take a preventive approach.
“If the haze becomes worse in the next few days, I will let him skip co-curricular and sports activities,” she said, adding that she wants to prevent her son from falling ill as he will be sitting for a major examination next month.
“This is a crucial period for him to prepare for the inaugural Year Four Malaysian Learning Matrix (MPM) examination which will be held from Oct 6 to 8, which will assess pupils’ mastery levels and learning gaps,” she said.
The MPM examination covers four core subjects – Bahasa Melayu, English, Mathematics and Science – as well as Chinese or Tamil for pupils in vernacular schools to assess pupils’ understanding of the subjects before they transition to secondary school and support their readiness for international-level assessments.
Advertising executive Tan Huey Qi, 36, said her daughter’s primary school here encourages pupils to wear face masks as a precaution not only against the haze but also Influenza A.
“Many children have been falling sick due to the hot and dry weather. Now, with the haze, we have to take extra precautions.
“Aside from keeping a close eye on the hourly API reading, I also constantly remind my daughter to drink more water and refill her bottle at school,” she said.
Tan said she is also concerned about her daughter falling ill as she too is sitting for the Year Four MPM examination.
Pasir Gudang resident J. Prakash, 43, is worried about his daughter’s health as she suffers from asthma.
“Over the weekend, the API in our area was in the unhealthy category, causing her eyes to feel dry and itchy. Now that school has started, I make sure she brings her inhaler, extra face masks and a big bottle of water to stay hydrated,” he said.
API readings of between 0 and 50 indicate good air quality, 51 to 100 moderate, 101 to 200 unhealthy, 201 to 300 very unhealthy, while readings above 300 are categorised as hazardous.
API data is released hourly based on readings from 68 air quality monitoring stations nationwide.
