Schools To Reopen On June 2; Graduating Cohorts To Attend School Daily, Others To Rotate Weekly Says MOE

Singapore schools will reopen on 2 June, as the country exits circuit breaker period, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced Tuesday (19 May).

The graduating cohorts in Primary 6, Secondary 4 and 5 will be attending school from Monday to Friday, while all other students will alternate weekly between home-based learning and classes in school. These include K1 and K2 children attending MOE Kindergartens.

School-based student care centres will also resume operations from June 2.

All these are part of MOE’s plan to resume classes in schools “in a careful and safe manner,” which will be done in two phases. Phase 1 will cover the first few weeks of  Term 3.

Schools to Reopen On June 2

Image source: iStock

All students are likely to return to school from Mondays to Fridays for Phase 2 which will take place “in tandem with broader easing at the national level, possibly in a few weeks’ time,” said the education ministry.

In a Facebook post. Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung acknowledges that though strict safety measures are put in place, some parents will be worried.

“Many students will be excited to return to school. Parents may be looking forward to school opening too, especially if they have to return to work. But I am sure parents are also worried about their children’s safety,” Mr Ong said. “Rest assured that we will take whatever precautions we can to ensure the well-being of all students and staff.”

Explaining why graduating cohorts will be attending daily schools at the resumption for Term 3, Mr Ong said the move is to “support them because national examinations are coming.”

Meanwhile, for students from Assumption Pathway School (APS) and NorthLight School (NLS), MOE said their return from 2 June will be done in a staggered process and allow all students to be back in school by 8 June.

“This arrangement will enable APS and NLS students to make full use of the school facilities for their learning, which is more hands-on in nature.

“Given the high level of need of students from SPED (special education) schools, we will also stagger their return to school from Jun 2 and allow all students to be back in school by Jun 8.”

Care Arrangements For Students

For parents who work in essential services or those who need to return to work after Jun 2 and cannot find alternative care arrangements, their children can do their home-based learning in school. Parents who are unable to secure alternative care arrangements during HBL days may approach their children’s primary school or SPED school for assistance.

“Contact the school, we are able to take in the child. The child will have a place to do his own home-based learning with some supervision,” said Mr Ong.

“We have always done that for essential workers and children with high needs, and we will continue to do that and extend (it) to the parents who need to work after Jun 2 and don’t have alternate arrangements.”

Safety Measures in Schools

“Schools will ensure that safe management measures are in place to keep students safe,” said MOE.

These include:

• Daily temperature-taking with additional visual and question screening will continue to be carried out for all students and staff. In addition, students
  and staff who are unwell, or who have adult household members on home quarantine / Stay Home Notice (SHN) or have flu-like symptoms such as fever and
  cough, will be required to stay away from school.

Mr Ong noted that there have been “29 student infections so far since the beginning of this epidemic.”

“Two are from overseas, two are unlinked, and the rest are from adult members from their household,” he added. Schools will also be asking students if any of their family members have respiratory symptoms. “If there is, we’ll isolate the child, get the child to go home. When the family member recovers, the child can come back,” Mr Ong said. 

Fixed, exam-style seating in classrooms will be implemented when schools reopen on 2 June. | Image source: iStock

Other measures include:

• Schools will clean high-touch surfaces more frequently and disinfect the premises daily.
• Students and staff are required to wear their masks or face shields.
• Students will practise frequent hand-washing throughout the school day and practice wipe down of tables and shared equipment after use.
• Intermingling across classes and levels will be minimised.
• There will be fixed exam-style seating in classrooms and spaced seating in canteens or alternative venues.
• Schools will also stagger arrival, dismissal and recess timings to reduce congestion.

To ensure that students remain active and keep healthy, schools will resume Physical Education (PE) lessons when they return to school, with strict adherence to safe management measures, said MOE.

“During PE lessons, students and PE teachers will not be required to wear masks when engaged in strenuous physical activities such as running and workouts.”

“Taking into consideration that students may not be sufficiently prepared physically, the National Physical Fitness Award (NAPFA) this year will be cancelled.”

Arrangements for Examination

As for the upcoming GCE A-Level H3 examinations on 28 May, and the GCE O Level and A Level mid-year Mother Tongue Language examinations between 18 and 19 June, candidates will be required to wear masks or face shields during the examinations, the Education Ministry said. 

To reduce the risk of possible transmission, students on Home Quarantine Order, SHN and Leave of Absence will not be allowed to sit for these examinations and will take year-end examinations instead.

Those who are on medical leave or are unwell with flu-like symptoms, such as fever or coughing, will also take the year-end examinations instead of mid-year ones.

“For the examination on H3 subjects taught by Autonomous Universities, there are no year-end examinations. SEAB will apply an established procedure to derive a subject grade for students who miss these examinations due to valid reasons,” said MOE.

MOE centre-based lessons will resume for graduating cohorts from 2 June, while all tuition and enrichment centre-based learning will continue to be suspended because they bring together students from different classes and schools, said Mr Ong.

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