Around 1.43 million students in six Indonesian provinces have shifted to remote learning as hazardous wildfire haze continues to affect air quality across parts of the country.
Indonesia’s Education Ministry said the affected students come from 12,874 schools in the provinces of Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan.
The largest number of affected students is in West Kalimantan, where about 1.1 million students have been moved to online classes amid widespread forest and land fires.
Remote learning began on August 31 and is scheduled to continue through September 4, subject to air quality assessments every three days.
Authorities said face-to-face classes may be suspended when the Air Pollution Standard Index exceeds 200 in a particular area.
Air pollution levels have reached dangerous levels in several parts of Kalimantan.
Data from Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry showed that some areas recorded readings above 1,000, with Southeast Pontianak in West Kalimantan registering the highest at 1,023.
Indonesia classifies air pollution readings above 300 as hazardous.
Education officials have also authorized school principals to immediately shift to remote learning when conditions become critical, without waiting for further instructions from higher authorities.
The worsening haze comes as Indonesia continues to battle a surge in forest and land fires.
Government data showed that around 200,000 hectares of land were burned nationwide during the first seven months of the year, with nearly half of the increase recorded in July alone.
Around 73,310 hectares were burned across the six priority provinces, prompting authorities to intensify firefighting and other measures to contain the fires and protect communities from the hazardous haze.
(Photo Courtesy: Reuters)
