SINGAPORE: The June school holidays will be brought forward to May 5 in light of the extension of the “circuit breaker” period to Jun 1, announced the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Tuesday (Apr 21).
This will apply to all MOE kindergartens, primary, secondary and pre-university students, including students from special education schools.
AdvertisementAdvertisement“While HBL (home-based learning) has been going well, it has been an intense period of hard work and adjustment for parents, students and teachers,” said the ministry in a press release.
“An early June holiday will give everyone a respite. It also buys us time for a less restrictive school opening in June.”
Lessons will resume on Jun 2, and more details on the format of these lessons - whether they will be physical classes, or partial or full home-based learning - will be released at a later date.
These changes mean that Term 3 will be longer, but a one-week mid-term break will be instituted between Jul 20 and 26. The third school term will end on Sep 6.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe revised academic calendar is as follows:
- May 5 to Jun 1: School holidays
- Jun 2: Start of Term 3
- Jul 20 to Jul 26: Mid-term break
- Sep 6: End of Term 3
Taking into consideration the mid-term break in July, the listening comprehension examinations for O- and A-Level Mother Tongue Language and Mother Tongue Language B will be rescheduled from Jul 21 and 22 to Jul 27.
“SEAB will work with schools to put in place precautionary measures to protect the safety and well-being of students and examination personnel,” it said in the media release.
[h=3]READ: Singapore's COVID-19 cases top 9,000 after 1,111 new cases reported[/h]Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday said Singapore will extend its COVID-19 circuit breaker period by four weeks until Jun 1.
In a televised address to the nation, Mr Lee said Singapore will also implement tighter measures such as closing more workplaces and imposing entry restrictions on “hotspots” such as popular wet markets.
Mr Lee also stressed that Singapore should go out only for essential needs, like buying food or necessities.
On how Singapore can exit from the circuit breaker, Mr Lee stressed that the country needs to take things one step at a time - first by opening up incrementally, in small steps, to make sure that people are safe.
Earlier this week, the Ministry of Education said about 12,500 laptops or tablets have been loaned out as of Apr 15 to students who do not have sufficient devices at home for home-based learning.
This follows the move to full home-based learning for students across all levels in line with Singapore's COVID-19 circuit breaker measures.
[h=3]BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments[/h]Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
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