Even as Singapore transitions to treating Covid-19 as an endemic, those who remain unvaccinated are still at high risk of developing severe symptoms.
Apart from adults with medical conditions and unable to take the vaccine, another group of unvaccinated folks are children who are 12 years old and younger.
To protect them from the coronavirus, Primary 1 to 5 students will undergo full Home-Based Learning (HBL) from 27 Sep to 6 Oct.
Students in Special Education (SPED) schools offering National Curriculum will also follow the same measures.
After taking into consideration the recent spike in Covid-19 cases and the vulnerability of the young students, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced the precautionary measures on Saturday (18 Sep).
Starting 27 Sep, all Primary 1-5 students will undergo full HBL for a period of 10 days, until 6 Oct.
The same arrangement will also apply to SPED schools that follow the National Curriculum.
Before returning physically to school, MOE encourages students to self-administer an ART swab test on either 4 or 5 Oct.
Despite the HBL arrangement, Primary and SPED schools will stay open for students who require additional support during this HBL period.
Parents who are unable to work from home or source for alternative care arrangements can visit the schools for assistance.
Primary 6 students taking their PSLE will go on a ‘study break’ from 25-29 Sep before sitting for their national exams from 30 Sep.
This will hopefully lower the risk of school-based transmissions and reduce the number of students who have to observe Quarantine Order (QO) or Leave of Absence (LOA) prior to the exams.
MOE encourages graduating students to self-administer an ART on 27 or 28 Sep before returning for their exams.
They will also continue to monitor the situation and implement the necessary measures to keep schools safe.
While the sudden switch to HBL may be disruptive, MOE seeks parents’ understanding that these are truly unprecedented times. Therefore, strict measures are necessary to curb the recent wave of Covid-19 cases.
We hope the situation will improve soon, so students can return to school where they can learn alongside their friends.
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Featured image adapted from Chan Chun Sing on Facebook.
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