SINGAPORE - Primary 1 to 3 pupils will continue with a week of home-based learning (HBL) from June 28 when Term 3 begins, said the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Monday (June 14).
They will return to school on Tuesday, July 6, as Monday is a school holiday.
Secondary 1 and 2 students will be on HBL for three days till June 30, and return to school on Thursday, July 1.
This is part of a move to progressively allow students back to school after the June holidays to keep students and staff safe from Covid-19.
Students in Primary 4 to 6, Secondary 3 to 5, junior colleges and the Millennia Institute will return to school on June 28, when the new term begins.
MOE said that for centre-based classes such as third language or art and music elective programmes, graduating students will resume in-person lessons from the first week of Term 3, while non-graduating students will continue with home-based learning.
Centre-based classes will resume in-person for all students from the second week of Term 3.
MOE also said that institutes of higher learning will also progressively allow students back on campus.
From June 21, small-group classes or consultations that were previously conducted online can resume on campus.
Students will continue to return for essential in-person sessions such as labs and practicals. In-person examinations will also continue to be held with no more than 50 persons per venue.
All in-person classes and other activities on campus are subject to strict safe management measures.
Classes and lectures with more than 50 persons will continue to be held online, said MOE.
For those who require care arrangements for their young children, MOE Kindergartens and school-based Student Care Centres will resume fully from June 28.
Special education school students will also have a staggered return to school from June 28 onwards, based on their needs. All students will be back in school from July 6.
MOE also said that it plans to gradually resume in-person co-curricular activities from the second week of Term 3, beginning with low-risk activities.
Given the need to minimise intermingling of students from different schools, in line with the gradual resumption of student activities, the National School Games for Junior and C Divisions, as well as the remaining games for A Division, will be cancelled, it said.
All tuition and enrichment classes for individuals 18 years old and below can also resume in-person lessons from June 21.
To ensure safe distancing and hygiene, schools and institutes of higher learning will ensure safe management measures are in place, said MOE.
These include the wearing of masks at all times, daily temperature taking in school, and continued temperature and symptom screening at institutes of higher learning campus entrances.
Schools will also have fixed exam-style seating and staggered recess timings, where students also have to be seated in a fixed arrangement with at least 1m spacing in between.
Dining in canteens and dining halls at institutes of higher learning will also need to continue with the necessary safe management measures.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said that good progress is being made with the student vaccination programme, as close to 90 per cent of students have signed up, with one in three having taken the first dose.
"Going forward, we must combine vaccination with increased testing and rapid isolation of potential infection clusters to keep our schools open and safe," he said.
He added that students' well-being and undisrupted learning will remain a priority for MOE, which will continue to monitor the situation closely and make adjustments.
