JOHOR BAHRU, Malaysia — All schools across Johor will close on Oct. 8 and 9 as worsening haze and deteriorating air quality prompt authorities to take precautionary measures to protect students and school staff.
The decision was announced on Oct. 7 following a directive from Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, with state authorities saying air quality had deteriorated across all districts. The closure affects 617,258 students in 1,198 schools under Malaysia’s Education Ministry.
Johor Education and Information Committee chairman Dr Muhammad Naqib Md Ghazali said the two-day closure was necessary to safeguard students’ health and safety as haze conditions persisted.
Home-based learning to continue
Although school premises will be closed, lessons will continue through Teaching and Learning at Home (PdPR) during the two-day period.
Students who were scheduled to sit assessments, including the Year 4 Learning Matrix, will have those assessments postponed and rescheduled according to instructions from the Johor Education Department and other relevant authorities.
The state government also appealed to employers to provide reasonable flexibility to parents and guardians who may have to make alternative arrangements for their children while schools are closed.
Authorities said air-quality readings would continue to be monitored, with further decisions to be based on the latest conditions.
Batu Pahat among the worst-hit areas
The statewide closure follows a particularly severe deterioration in Batu Pahat, where the Air Pollutant Index (API) reached 203 on the night of Oct. 6, putting the district in the “very unhealthy” category.
As a result, schools, kindergartens and childcare centres in Batu Pahat had already been ordered to close from Oct. 7. The earlier order affected 176 Education Ministry schools, while additional religious education institutions were also affected.
On Oct. 7, Batu Pahat remained among the areas recording the highest pollution levels in Malaysia. The district’s API reached 197 at 9am, while other Johor monitoring stations also recorded unhealthy readings.
Other Johor locations recorded elevated readings including Segamat, Pasir Gudang, Tangkak, Kluang, Larkin, Kota Tinggi and Pengerang.
Under Malaysia’s API scale, readings between 101 and 200 are classified as unhealthy, while 201 to 300 is considered very unhealthy.
Parents urged to monitor children’s health
Johor authorities urged parents and guardians to keep a close watch on their children’s health during the closure.
Parents were advised to keep children hydrated and limit outdoor activities while haze levels remain elevated. They were also told to seek medical attention if children develop symptoms such as persistent coughing, sore throat or difficulty breathing.
The advice comes as haze can aggravate respiratory problems, particularly among children and people with existing health conditions.
Parents in Batu Pahat had already welcomed the earlier school closures, with parent-teacher associations saying reducing children’s exposure to polluted outdoor air was an appropriate precaution.
Johor calls for stronger regional cooperation
The worsening haze has also renewed calls for regional action.
Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi has urged ASEAN to take a more active role in addressing the regional haze problem and called for an emergency meeting.
He raised the issue during a meeting with Indonesia’s consul general in Johor Bahru, Sigit Suryantoro Widiyanto, stressing the importance of cooperation on prevention, monitoring and response rather than assigning blame.
The haze is part of a broader regional air-quality problem that can cross national borders, making cooperation between Malaysia, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries particularly important.
First statewide school closure during this haze season
The decision makes Johor the first state in Peninsular Malaysia to announce a statewide temporary school closure during the 2026 haze season, according to CNA.
It also represents a significant escalation from the earlier closures in Batu Pahat, where air quality had reached the very unhealthy range.
For now, schools throughout Johor are scheduled to remain closed for two days, with home-based learning continuing while authorities monitor whether air quality improves.
The immediate priority, state officials said, is to limit students’ exposure to unhealthy air while ensuring their education can continue from home.
