KUALA LUMPUR/JOHOR BAHRU – Every day this week, 45-year‑old executive Alisha Chan has been reaching for her phone to check pollution readings and school announcements to find out whether her children will be going to school the next day – and whether she needs to arrange childcare around her full‑time job.
With two school‑going children aged 17 and seven, she faces the possibility of disruptions to family routines and work when haze from fires in Indonesia forces schools to close.
“We parents are living in fear, constantly checking for updates on school closures. It feels like a time bomb,” she told The Straits Times on Oct 14.
“Today, while we were preparing for our children to stay home because of the school closures, the Education Ministry suddenly announced that schools would be open as usual tomorrow.
“We can’t plan things in advance and have to make arrangements at the last minute, which is stressful for a full‑time working mother. I feel exhausted and have a headache from all these last‑minute arrangements as we are not employees who can work from home every day.”
The frustration has also spilt into online education support groups, with parents unhappy over the issue of school closures.
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