Haze: 16 schools in Pahang ordered to close

Sixteen schools in Rompin, Pahang were ordered to close today due to the haze, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said in a statement today.

MOE said that as at 10 am this morning, the Pahang Education Department received reports of closures involving one secondary school and 15 primary schools.

The schools involved were Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Sungai Puteri, Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Tanjung Gemok, SK Pontian, SK Kampong Kolam, SK Chenderawasih, SK Leban Chondong, SK Rompin, SK Sungai Puteri and SK Sarang Kedaik.

Also closed were SK Sarang Tiong, SK Pianggu, SK Janglau, SK (Felda) Selendang 1, SK (LKTP) Selendang 4, SK LKTP) Keratong 8 and Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) Rompin.

"Schools are reminded to follow the standard operations procedure and to prioritise the health of students and teachers at all times,” the statement said.

According to the Department of Environment (DOE) website, the Air Pollutant Index (API) of Rompin reached 204 at 10 pm last night, indicating very unhealthy air quality. The reading however went down to 97 as at 5 pm today.

API reading of 0 to 50 is categorised as good, 51 to 100 (moderate), 101 to 200 (unhealthy), 201 to 300 (very unhealthy) and above 300 (hazardous).

-Bernama