Use of Portable Airconditioners and Air Purifiers in School Classrooms when PSI > 100

Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Acting Minister for Education (Schools) whether the Ministry will consider utilising portable airconditioners and air purifiers in school classrooms whenever the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reading reaches the Unhealthy range and beyond (PSI readings of > 100).

Following the completion of our haze management review, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will be deploying air purifiers to all school classrooms to further enhance the well-being of our students and staff during a haze situation.

MOE will deploy about 25,000 air purifiers to all primary and secondary schools in Singapore by July 2016. Similarly, voluntary welfare organisation-run special education schools and MOE Kindergartens – which take reference from and are guided by haze management measures taken by our schools – will also be equipped with air purifiers. Schools will be provided guidelines on the use of the air purifiers.

This enhancement to our haze management measures takes into account the unusually prolonged haze season of 2015 as a possible forerunner of future haze seasons and is introduced in consultation with the National Environment Agency (NEA) and Ministry of Health (MOH).