Except for Langkawi, all schools in Malaysia to open tomorrow - Ministry

All schools in the country, with the exception of those in Langkawi, Kedah, are to operate as usual tomorrow.

This was announced by the Education Ministry in a statement today.

The ministry said the decision was made based on the improvement in the Air Pollutant Index (API) readings nationwide up to 3pm today, in which most of the areas have showed moderate air quality.

However, in Langkawi, the API is still at the ‘unhealthy’ level, with little change from this morning’s reading. School closures in the district will affect 28 schools and 18,759 pupils.

The Kedah State Education Department and Langkawi District Education Offices therefore have to ensure that all affected schools and parents are duly informed of the ministry’s decision, the statement added.

An API reading between zero and 50 indicates good air quality; 51 to 100 (moderate), 101 to 200 (unhealthy), 201 to 300 (very unhealthy) and hazardous for 300 and above.

Members of the public can refer to the Department of Environment portal at http://apims.doe.gov.my for the latest API readings.