Students back to school as haze begins to cool

Students back to school as haze begins to cool

28 May 2009

published by www.thejakartapost.com

Indonesia — Activities in kindergartens and elementary schools in Rokan Hilir regency, Riau, resumed Wednesday as haze, which forced the closure of the schools for two days, began to clear.

Head of the Rokan Hilir Education Agency Ferry Hendra Parya said his agency had lifted the order to close schools as thickness of the haze had reduced drastically in the past two days after rain early Tuesday.

“A number of schools actually took the initiative to resume activities yesterday, while others were still off. But today, all schools have begun their activities as usual,” he told The Jakarta Post by phone.

But Ferry said he was concerned that haze would again thicken, as rain was localized and forest fires were “highly likely during the dry season”, and that teachers and students could suffer respiratory infections.