Staggered school reopening for kindergartens, primary schools; CCAs, other activities to resume for sec schools, JCs

SINGAPORE — More elements of school life that have been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic will resume from January next year, with the reopening of schools to be staggered for children in kindergartens and primary schools, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said.

Detailing the activities that may be expected to resume at secondary schools, junior colleges and the Millennia Institute, the ministry said in a press release on Monday (Nov 8) that these will include flag-raising ceremonies, assemblies, learning journeys, co-curricular activities, National School Games and the Singapore Youth Festival.

As for students at institutes of higher learning, more in-person lessons and student activities, as well as larger scale sports events may be permitted on campus soon.

MOE said that it will be allowing selected educational institutes to conduct masked activities in sub-groups of up to five persons, as well as team sports of up to 10 fully vaccinated persons from Wednesday onwards.

It will review the outcome of these pilots in later this month and next month to prepare for scaling up of these sports activities for 2022.

The gradual resumption of school activities will help “to enrich the learning experiences and better support the long-term holistic development and well-being of our students”, it added, noting that Singapore’s student population above the age of 12 have high vaccination rates.

“(This) puts us in a good position to resume more elements of school life, with appropriate safeguards.”

KINDERGARTEN AND PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

For the young ones in kindergarten and primary school, MOE will be staggering the dates for when they return to school in January next year.

Kindergarten 1 children studying in MOE Kindergartens, along with Primary 1 students, will report for their first day of school on Jan 4.

Only one parent or guardian will be allowed to accompany this group of children to their new school to help them better adjust to the new environment and routines.

Students from the primary or junior sections of special education schools will similarly return to school on Jan 4.

As for children in Kindergarten 2 and those from Primary 2 to 6, they will return to school on Jan 5.

“This will better facilitate the safe return of students at the start of the school year and ensure that safe management measures can be implemented effectively,” MOE said.