MCA Youth: Don’t leave haze school decisions to parents

 

MCA Youth has urged the Education Ministry to establish a clearer nationwide haze response for schools, arguing that allowing parents to decide whether to send their children to class shifts a public responsibility onto individual families.

Its secretary-general Saw Yee Fung said Malaysia had experienced repeated haze episodes over the years, yet parents were still being left to make difficult decisions without a more comprehensive and uniform response mechanism.

Her comments come after Education Minister Datuk Seri Fadhlina Sidek said parents concerned about their children’s health could choose not to send them to school during the haze, provided they informed the school.

Under the National Haze Action Plan, outdoor activities are suspended when the Air Pollutant Index (API) exceeds 100, while schools close when readings exceed 200.

“Why has the ministry still not established a clear, uniform and workable response mechanism when Malaysia has faced serious haze episodes repeatedly over the years?” Saw asked.

She said the ministry should clearly define what measures schools should take at different API levels instead of leaving families to make their own judgments.

Saw warned that the current approach could create confusion in classrooms if some students stayed home while others continued attending lessons.

“Teachers would be caught between continuing lessons and risking those at home falling behind, or postponing lessons and disadvantaging those who attend,” she stated.

She also argued that not every family had the flexibility to work from home or arrange childcare, meaning households facing the same health risk could be forced into different decisions because of their employment or financial circumstances.

“The purpose of public policy is to establish clear standards when society faces a common risk, not to leave every household to make its own judgement and bear the consequences individually,” she added.

Saw called on the ministry to review its haze policies and introduce a transparent, nationwide tiered response that would protect students’ health while allowing teaching and learning to continue without placing the burden of decision-making on parents. ‒  Focus Malaysia