PETALING JAYA: All educational institutions across Johor will reopen on Monday following improved air quality readings throughout the southern state.
State education committee chairman Dr Naqib Ghazali added that Johor regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim gave his consent to the reopening of the schools, Utusan Malaysia reported.
"We made this decision after taking into account the declining trend of air pollutant index (API) readings in Johor over the past five days.
"The change in wind direction from today, coupled with the forecast of rainy weather, are expected to help alleviate the haze," he said.
Naqib said the state health department would continue to monitor the haze situation while taking into account the wellbeing of students.
Schools in Johor have been shut over the past two weeks due to worsening haze, with parts of the state recording very unhealthy air quality on some days.
As of 4pm, unhealthy air quality continued to be reported throughout Johor, with the highest API reading recorded in Batu Pahat (166), followed by Kluang (165), Larkin (165), Tangkak (162), Pasir Gudang (161), Segamat (155), Pengerang (154) and Kota Tinggit (151).