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SINGAPORE – Starting May 19, schools can begin to gather students in small groups for face-to-face lessons as circuit breaker measurements slowly decrease, multiple ministry task force addressing Covid said -19 at a press conference on Saturday (May 2).
National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the working group, said they would focus on graduating cohorts taking national exams. These are the cohorts of Primary 6, Secondary 4 and 5, Junior College 2 and Pre-University 3.
“Naturally, there is more anxiety among this group,” he said.
Higher education institutions, particularly the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), will also allow more students to return to campus for critical inquiries, projects, or internships.
Mr. Wong said that the entire cohort will not be allowed to return, but priority will be given to those who need school facilities for courses and hands-on sessions, as well as those who need additional support and mediation during school vacation periods.
“It is a small group,” he said, adding that this will be done with safe distancing measures and that students will be kept in separate groups within cohorts.
“We are not opening the entire school system at all,” he emphasized.
Rather, he said, this will be done gradually starting in May.
Starting in June, depending on the situation, the task force will review how much more schools can open and how many more students can return.
Education Minister Ong Ye Kung said in a Facebook post on Saturday that the return of the graduate students will be done “in a careful and calibrated way, with a safe wide distance.”
“They will return in small groups, on selected days of a week, throughout the day, and will be distributed within the school grounds. They will meet with teachers one-on-one or in small groups. Masks are mandatory.
He said, “We know that these students have been eager to prepare for their national exams, and that learning at home cannot completely replace training and face-to-face lessons.”
Mr. Ong said that during the four-week mid-year school break, which begins on May 5, schools will also continue to engage students in greatest need and provide care to those whose parents work on essential services and they cannot obtain alternative care arrangements. .
Teachers on the roster during this period will have free time in the second half of May, as the first two weeks of vacation are generally reserved as protected break time for teachers.
“This is something we always do, to give teachers some time to rest and recharge, although we know that many of them use the time to plan lessons and keep in touch with students,” added Mr. Ong.
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