The Singapore Ministry of Education (MoE) on Sunday announced that all primary, secondary, junior college (JC) and Millennia Institute (MI) students, including students from Special Education (SPED) schools, will shift to full Home-Based Learning (HBL) till end of the term on 28 May 2021.
This comes in the wake of a sharp increase in the number of community cases and the need to “reduce interactions and avoid the risk of large clusters”.
“Starting from Wednesday, May 19, preschools and student care centres will remain open to support parents who need to work. As work-from-home will be the default mode at workplaces, parents are encouraged to keep their children at home during this period where possible,” read a release from MoE.
During the June holidays, schools will allow graduating students to come back in small groups where necessary. The mid-year GCE O- and A-Level Mother Tongue Language examinations will proceed as planned with strict Safe Management Measures (SMMs) in place, the release added.
MoE also said that schools will assist students who require digital devices or internet access and the Singapore Student Learning Space (SLS) platform will continue to be accessible to students during this period.
Schools will remain open for students who require additional support and parents working in essential services or those who are unable to secure alternative care arrangements, can approach their children's primary schools for assistance.
Additionally, the IHLs will reduce attendance on campus, by converting more classes to online learning, with the exception of essential in-person sessions such as labs, practicals and final year projects.
“Private Education Institutions (PEIs) offering pre-tertiary and tertiary courses must continue to abide by all national SMM guidelines, but we encourage them to take reference from the measures for schools and IHLs and decide if they wish to adopt similarly tightened measures over and above the national SMMs,” the release said.
All centre-based tuition and enrichment classes will be required to move activities online till the end of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert).