Singapore is introducing new, stricter measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 as the number of cases has recently increased to "more than 50 new cases a day".
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that from April 8 to May 4, 2020, all schools and colleges (IHLs) will study entirely at home.
Preschools and care centers are also closed. However, they will continue to offer limited services to parents' children who need to continue working and cannot make alternative care arrangements.
Education minister Ong Ye Kung added that all primary, secondary and junior colleges tested a day of learning at home this week.
The process went smoothly and provided an opportunity to solve teething problems, he said.
In addition to closings, schools will also do away with mid-year exams, but national exams, including PSLE, O-Level and A-Level, will continue as they are considered essential.
Since the number of students who take these exams is not large, they can be decentralized and taken with safe distance measures.
The situation continues to be monitored and the tests can be adjusted if necessary.
New polytechnicians and ITE students will continue to go to campus for registration purposes if a new semester reopens in the next week or two.
They will go to their locations in “small quantities” and schools will prepare them for online learning.
The universities conduct all the lessons online and the exams are converted into take-out tasks.
Selected image source: Vulcan Post
