KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 — The thick haze blowing across Sarawak has forced the closure of 409 schools in nine districts, of which 347 are at the primary level.
The state Education Department said a total of 157,479 students are affected by the haze as at 10am, but added that the UPSR examinations for Standard Six are continuing as scheduled.
While Padawan district has the most schools ― 101 total, with 86 serving primary schoolers ― the district with the highest student population affected by the haze is in Kuching at 60,509.
Other districts and their affected student population are: 53 schools in Betong with 14,520 students, 44 schools in Bau with 11,571 students, and 30 schools in Lubok Antu with 4,943 students.
Samarahan has three schools with 3,411 students while Serian has 20 schools with 2,230 students, there are 41 schools in Sri Aman with 9,828 students, and 30 schools in Lundu with 3,895 students.
The Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre has stated that the haze will continue to affect the western parts of peninsular Malaysia and western Sarawak due to fires in Indonesia’s Sumatra and Kalimantan.
