SHAH ALAM, Sept 12 — Three schools in Johan Setia, Klang near here were ordered closed with immediate effect today after the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading in the area this morning exceeded 200.

In a statement today, the Selangor Education Department said the schools were Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Johan Setia, SK Jalan Kebun and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Jalan Kebun.

According to the department, any school in the state which is located in an area with API readings of above 200, the administration shall take action as stated in the Ministry of Education Malaysia (MoE) circular no. 1/2019 by immediately closing the institution until the situation improves.

"The closure of the schools will not affect the execution of all types of examinations including public examinations which will continue as scheduled.

"All the schools involved are advised to refer to the MoE’s circular and to take action in accordance with the statement in the letter,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, Selangor deputy director of education Muhamad Radzi Abdullah told Bernama said the closure of the three schools was due to the current API reading.

"If the API reading drops to below 200, the school will be reopened as usual. The school administration must keep up with the API readings and act according to the circular issued by the MoE,” he said.

According to the Department of Environment’s website as at 9am today, the API reading in Johan Setia, Klang was 213, Shah Alam (133), Klang (136), Banting (124), Petaling Jaya (126) and Kuala Selangor (140).

An API reading of under 50 means the air quality is good, 51 to 100 (moderate), 101 to 200 (unhealthy), 201 to 300 (very unhealthy) and above 300 (hazardous). — Bernama