KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 — Amid a worsening haze, 409 schools in Sarawak have closed today.
A statement by the Sarawak state education department said that the closure included 347 primary schools and 62 secondary schools under nine district education offices.
The temporary closure affects 157,479 students in total.
The Sarawak state education department also clarified that the UPSR public examination was conducted as scheduled for Year Six primary school pupils today.
Separately, the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) has supplied the haze-hit state with half a million face masks.
“NADMA has acquired 500,000 face masks and sent them to the agency’s branch in Sarawak,” the agency said in a statement
The agency and the education ministry are also collaborating to deliver the masks to schools in the affected area.
As at 2pm, the Air Pollutant Index of Malaysia has categorised 18 areas as unhealthy and 48 areas as moderate.
Local authorities have reportedly blamed the haze on worsening forest fires in Indonesia.
