Smoky haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia has caused many parts of Johor to be heavily smogged, triggering a scare that has led to more than 200 schools in Muar and Ledang being closed.

In these districts, the air pollution index (API) reached a hazardous high of 383 by evening.

State education director Mohd Nor A. Ghani said the closure affected more than 76,940 primary and secondary students.

He said all schools in the state had earlier been directed to close if the API reached 300.

“We will update parents through circulars to the schools and the media on the situation,” he said, adding that those schools where the API was still tolerable have been instructed not to conduct any outdoor activities for the time being.

Mohd Nor said most of the schools in the areas where the air quality is bad are located along the coast.

“We have received reports of students experiencing watery eyes and breathing difficulties, so we are acting before the situation gets worse,” he said.

Muar education officer Ahmad Othman said a circular was sent out to all 211 primary schools here and in Ledang when the API read 300.

He said those who had gone to school in the morning were allowed to stay until their classes ended but those in the afternoon session were told to stay away.

He said the schools would be re-opened when the API reading dipped below 300.

The latest API readings yesterday showed Pasir Gudang and Batu Pahat as the next most hazardous spots in Johor with API readings of 333 and 300, respectively. API readings were 291 in Kota Tinggi and 219 in Larkin Lama.

Seventy primary and 35 secondary schools in Pasir Gudang have also been directed to close today. .

In Batu Pahat, the district education department instructed all schools to close for two days when the API touched 300 yesterday.

At SJK (C) Ai Chun (2), many teachers stood outside the school building to inform parents dropping their children off for the afternoon session about the situation.

Headmaster Ho Weng Tack said the school in Jalan Mohd Khalid received the instruction from the district office at about noon.

SJK (C) Hwa Jin headmistress Tan Seow Tin said the school had advised parents to prepare additional masks for their children as schools were short of masks. Batu Pahat Chinese Primary School Heads Council chairman Heng Hock Teng said the 38 Chinese primary schools in the district had been told to stop all extra curricular and outdoor activities earlier this week.

In Kuala Lumpur, Education Ministry director-general Abd Ghafar Mahmud said schools had been given the discretion to close immediately once the API reading reached the hazardous level.

He said the National Haze Action Plan had been amended to allow the ministry to take necessary actions to safeguard the health of the schoolchildren in areas affected by the haze.

“The school authorities have to constantly monitor the haze situation by checking the API reading available on the department of environment website,” Abd Ghafar said in a statement.