Salon manager Alice Pang is among several parents who are increasingly worried about the open-air classroom environments in Singapore amid the transboundary haze fuelled by fires across Indonesia.
Pang said her 10-year-old daughter had already been suffering from a sinus infection. Her classroom does not have air conditioning, and the worsening haze plaguing the city state has been making her child’s eyes water.
She would prefer that her Primary Four daughter stay home as the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) climbs beyond 200 in some areas, but the child is in the middle of exams.
“They have an air purifier in the classroom, but she says it isn’t working. It’s also too hot for the students. I think the government needs to step up and take action,” Pang said.
Earlier this month, the PSI one-hour reading reached a high of 288 in western Singapore.
The same day, Singapore began distributing N95 masks to vulnerable people, including children aged between seven and 16, and providing air-conditioned rooms in shelters in community clubs and some residents’ committee centres.
Education Minister Desmond Lee said in a social media post that lessons and national examinations would continue in enclosed venues with air purifiers. However, his ministry might consider school closures if forecasts entered the hazardous range with a 24-hour PSI exceeding 300.
Across the 1km causeway in Malaysia, schools in several states had been shut. On October 16, Malaysia’s Ministry of Health said all educational institutions, including schools and childcare centres, must be closed if the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading exceeds 200.
Lawrence Ng, a general practitioner in Singapore, said that common conditions triggered by haze included upper respiratory infections, bronchitis, conjunctivitis, allergic rhinitis – known as hay fever – and asthma.
“Children have smaller airways, which are more susceptible to airway narrowing from pollutants,” Ng said.
When asked whether implementing air conditioning in classrooms was being considered to tackle the haze, Singapore’s Ministry of Education directed reporters to its haze management measures.
These include avoiding physical activity when the PSI is between 200 and 300, placing students in an enclosed indoor space with air purifiers, and temporarily placing those who are unwell in an air-conditioned room with an air purifier before they receive medical attention.
Politician Kenneth Tiong, who reiterated his call to provide air-conditioning in classrooms, told reporters he was not saying that air-conditioning should be on all the time, but that classrooms should have the option when needed. He has previously advocated for air conditioning to help students and teachers cope with the heat.
“The recent haze makes it more urgent. It has been very difficult for the kids: many are coughing, and I can see the toll it is taking on their health,” Tiong said.
In March, then senior minister of state David Neo said Singapore had been careful not to rush into air conditioning, as it was not very energy-efficient. Instead, the city state relied on passive cooling solutions, such as cool paint and more breathable uniforms.
Neo stressed the need to balance other considerations, such as long-term heat resilience, acclimatisation, energy consumption and environmental impact.
