More schools close in Indonesia due to worsening haze from forest fires

Indonesia's South Sumatra province schools have transitioned to online learning amid worsening haze from forest and peatland fires, which have pushed air pollution to unhealthy levels, officials revealed on Wednesday. The haze has disrupted the education of over 1.4 million students nationwide. The situation has been exacerbated by an intensifying El Nino pattern and a prolonged dry season, making the impact of the fires particularly severe this year.

The toxic haze has not only affected Indonesia but has also spread to neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, causing a regional health crisis. Farther away, the smoke has reached the Philippines over 800 kilometers away, and breached Malaysia's emergency-level threshold, leading to an emergency declaration in a Sarawak state town on Borneo Island.

In Palembang, the capital city of South Sumatra, schools from kindergarten to junior high were instructed to conduct classes online under an emergency measure due to the thickening smoke, which poses health risks to children, including acute respiratory infections. Mayor Ratu Dewa emphasized that the government's priority is the health and safety of the students, and teachers were advised to avoid excessive assignments during the remote learning period.

The policy, affecting more than 250,000 students at 1,030 schools in Palembang, will be regularly reviewed, and in-person classes are expected to resume once conditions improve. As of now, about 12,800 schools across Sumatra and Borneo islands remain closed due to the persistent dangerous air quality. Save the Children, an international non-government organization, noted that the haze from wildfires, intensified by El Nino-driven dry conditions, has forced over 1.4 million students into online learning in affected areas in Indonesia.

Arshad Malik, Save the Children’s regional director for Asia, highlighted the broader implications, stating that the crisis is not just a health or environmental issue, but a child rights crisis.