SINGAPORE — Schools and kindergartens will reopen after the March school holidays as scheduled, but with enhanced measures in place, including putting students and teachers on a leave of absence (LOA) if they were overseas during the break.

This was what the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ministry of Family and Social Development (MSF) said in a joint statement on Thursday (March 19).

Over and above the measures announced by the Ministry of Health a day before, MOE and MSF will issue a 14-day LOA to students and staff members of schools, preschools and student care centres who returned from overseas on or after March 14, the start of the March school holidays.

The measures, which will come into effect on March 20, would mean that the affected student and staff members must stay away from school and preschool for the duration of their LOA or stay-home notice. 

People on LOA are allowed to leave their place of residence to buy daily necessities or to attend to important personal matters, while those on stay-home orders must remain in their place of residence at all times. Each lasts 14 days and neither is considered a quarantine.

Day zero of the 14 days will start from the date of their return to Singapore.

When schools open after the holidays, more precautionary measures will also be implemented for two weeks.

These measures include:

• Suspension of co-curricular activities (CCAs)

• Assigned seating and a wipe-down routine in canteens

• Fixed exam-style seating for Primary 3 students and above, and fixed group cluster seating for Primary 1, Primary 2 and MOE kindergarten students

• Deferment of the Singapore Youth Festival arts presentation 

• Wipe-down routines in classrooms

• Assigned play areas for students to play in reduced group sizes

The moves will supplement earlier precautionary measures such as the suspension of large group and communal activities and the staggering of recess times in schools, MOE said.

The suspension of the National School Games will be extended until the end of the June holidays. In February, the games had been suspended until the end of the March school holidays.

Preschools will continue with their present precautionary measures to safeguard the health and safety of employees and children under their care, such as having frequent health checks and temperature screenings for them, restricting visitors into the preschools, and suspending excursions and field trips. 

Students on LOA as well as those who are serving stay-home notices or quarantine orders will be supplemented with home-based learning, MOE said.

Parents who have more questions about the measures may approach their respective schools for clarifications, the ministry added. 

In a Facebook post on Thursday morning, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung said that while he recognises that students, parents and coaches will be disappointed by the decision to suspend CCAs and defer the National School Games, these are necessary measures to protect the school system.

“I hate to have to do this, but it is critical that we protect the system and keep everyone who has overseas exposure to the virus away from the school population. Then we can possibly return to the calm we enjoyed before the March school holidays,” he wrote.

 “I know many have rushed back to Singapore earlier this week because of all the travel restrictions. So for many, your LOA from school may have already started,” he added.

“This means that you may not miss school for the full two weeks, so I hope this won’t be too much of an inconvenience.”

ACCEPTING THE NEED FOR ENHANCED MEASURES

While they expressed disappointment that the National School Games will be suspended until the end of the June holidays, students and coaches interviewed by TODAY said that they understood the need for greater social-distancing measures to curb the spread of the virus.

Track-and-field coach S Pandian, 53, welcomed the move, saying that the health and safety of Singaporeans should take precedence over the sporting event, as countries across the globe grapple with the disease.

A hockey coach at a junior college, who declined to be named because she is not authorised to speak to the media, said that although she understands the need to defer the games, she is still disappointed that she will not get to see her students reap the fruits of their hard labour.

The 56-year-old, who had just broken the news to the team when TODAY spoke to her by phone, said that the girls were disappointed and upset to hear about the latest developments.

Shu Shayne, 18, a hockey player at Raffles Institution, said that she and her teammates were disappointed that the games have been suspended. 

They have been training thrice a week since last October and felt that they had a good shot at making it to the finals this year.

“It’s a pity because even if the games happen after the June holidays, we have no chance at all (at playing). That is when we have to start studying hard for our A-Level exams,” she said.

However, mother-of-two Carrie Ng, 41, said that although she expected the ministry to cancel CCAs, she had hoped that it would make an exception for sports.

“I think (the children) are quite bored at home. If they are kept at home, they can only watch TV, so I was hoping that at least for sports, they can continue. Exercise is very important for children and it was good that they found an activity that they love to do,” she said.

CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this report stated that the 14-day leave of absence would apply to students and teachers who went overseas on or after March 14. The Ministry of Education has since clarified that the LOA applies to those returning from overseas on or after March 14.