West Kalimantan extends online classes amid fire haze

PONTIANAK, thekabarnews.com—Schools in haze-affected parts of West Kalimantan are extending learning from home from Monday, September 21, through Friday, September 25, 2026. This change comes as smoke from forest and land fires continues to raise concerns about students’ health.

A notice dated September 20 from SMAN 1 Pontianak confirms that its students in grades 10 to 12 will study online throughout the five-day period. They will follow the school’s regular timetable.

The notice cites a September 19 directive from the West Kalimantan Education and Culture Office, No. 400.3/3117/DIKBUD-C. The directive considered air quality and student safety. However, the school notice did not include the provincial directive itself.

The school has asked students to follow their teachers’ instructions and complete assigned work. It has also asked parents and guardians to help ensure their children take part in lessons from home.

The notice allows SMAN 1 Pontianak to hold limited in-person sessions for grade 12 students who are preparing for the Academic Competency Test. 

Attendance would not be compulsory. The school could return those sessions to online learning if air quality, fire conditions or students’ health made classroom teaching unsuitable.

Parents of students with asthma, a history of respiratory infection or other breathing conditions should contact the school. Then it can arrange home learning based on their needs. 

SMAN 1 Pontianak said it would announce any further adjustments after reviewing air quality and provincial education-office guidance.

West Kalimantan Education and Culture Office head Syarif Faisal Indahmawan Alkadri has said schools in areas with an Air Pollution Standard Index (ISPU) reading below 200 may still hold face-to-face classes. 

That threshold does not appear in SMAN 1 Pontianak’s September 20 notice. The notice sets online learning as the school’s default for the coming week. Moreover, an ISPU reading below 200 is not necessarily safe: Indonesia’s official index classifies readings from 101 to 200 as unhealthy.

The extension follows an earlier period of remote learning that ran through September 18. In its latest weekly forecast, BMKG reported 1,088 high-confidence hotspots in West Kalimantan during September 7–16. 

Hotspots indicate potential fires, not confirmed incidents or air-quality readings at individual schools.

For families, the practical instruction is to follow their school’s latest notice. Teaching arrangements may differ by location, and schools may change them as conditions develop.