Earlier in September, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced that students from primary and special education (SPED) schools will undergo full Home-Based Learning (HBL) till 7 Oct.
They did so to minimise disruptions to students sitting for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) amid the rise in Covid-19 cases.
Today (7 Oct), MOE announced that face-to-face lessons will resume at these learning institutions starting next Monday (11 Oct).
However, co-curricular activities (CCAs) will remain suspended across all levels.
On Thursday (7 Oct), MOE announced via a press release that face-to-face lessons will progressively resume for students in primary and SPED schools.
The change will happen in phases, with Primary 3-6 students returning to school on Monday (11 Oct).
Subsequently, Primary 1 and 2 students will return on Wednesday (13 Oct), meaning that they’ll carry on with HBL first till 12 Oct.
MOE will provide more details to SPED schools on the gradual return of their students.
MOE said that they made the decision after considering students’ socio-emotional well-being and their approach to minimising a prolonged HBL.
Moreover, since the PSLE has concluded, there will no longer be disruptions to the national exams.
However, to minimise transmissions in schools, parents are to carry out an Antigen Rapid Test (ART) on their Primary 1-5 kids on 8-9 Oct before they return to school. They must then submit their results via a dedicated link.
Though students will be returning to schools, CCA will remain suspended across all levels, including in secondary schools and JCs.
Separately, the year-end exams for Primary 3 and 4 students will be cancelled so students can spend more time on lessons they’ve missed out on due to Covid-19 disruptions.
Instead, schools will gauge the students’ learning progress through assessments conducted throughout the year.
Primary 5 students, however, will still have to sit for their exams albeit with safety measures in place.
This will allow students and parents to have a better view of the students’ learning progress prior to their PSLE attempts the following year.
On 18 Sep, MOE announced that all Primary 1-5 students will undergo full HBL from 27 Sep-6 Oct.
The same measures also applied to students in Special Education (SPED) schools.
Roughly a week later on 24 Sep, MOE announced that the HBL period would be extended by 1 day till 7 Oct.
With the extension, affected students won’t have to return to school till 11 Oct since 8 Oct (Friday) happens to be Children’s Day.
Shortly after the return to school, primary school students will have to stay home from 18-21 Oct, in line with the PSLE marking period.
MOE has also declared 22 Oct a school holiday for them just for this year. They’ll thus be back in school again on 25 Oct.
Though Singapore has been reporting large numbers of Covid-19 cases every day, physical learning remains key for students’ development.
We’re confident that MOE and schools will put in place safety measures to minimise transmission risks so parents can have peace of mind when sending their children to school.
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Featured image adapted from Chan Chun Sing on Facebook.
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