Singapore primary school pupils to return to school from Oct 11

Singapore – Primary school students will return to school for face-to-face lessons progressively from next week, while the year-end examinations for Primary 3 and 4 students will be cancelled, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Thursday (Oct 7).

Year-end examinations for Primary 5 pupils will, however, still proceed under strict Covid-19 infection controls, MOE said in a statement.

This will allow students and parents to develop a better understanding of students’ learning progress in relation to the new Achievement Level scoring system, before taking the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) next year.

MOE’s announcement came after Primary 6 pupils were put on a study break from Sept 25 to 29, while those from Primary 1 to 5 moved to home-based learning from Sept 27 to Oct 6 to forestall a spike in Covid-19 cases before this year’s PSLE.

This was later extended by a day until Oct 7. Oct 8 is Children’s Day, a holiday for primary school students.

MOE said on Thursday that Primary 3 and 6 pupils would start going back to their schools from Monday next week, and Primary 1 and 2 students would continue with home-based learning and return only next Wednesday.

Parents of Primary 1 to 5 pupils are to perform a Covid-19 antigen rapid self-test on their children at their homes on Oct 8 or 9 before they return to school and report the results through a link that will be sent to them.

Although the year-end examinations have been cancelled for Primary 3 and 4 pupils, MOE said that schools would use a range of school assessments done throughout the year to provide feedback and make recommendations on students’ subject combinations.

MOE added that it would provide special education schools with more details about the phased return of students. This year’s PSLE marking exercise, meanwhile, will be carried out over four days, from Oct 18 to 21.

In line with current practice, primary school students will not be required to report to school during this period of marking, and there will be no home-based learning conducted. The day after the PSLE marking exercise, Oct 22, will be declared a school holiday for primary schools. All primary school pupils will thus return to school from Oct 25.

In step with the return of students to primary schools, face-to-face lessons for students aged 12 and below at tuition and enrichment centres may also resume from next Monday, with strict infection controls.

Face-to-face classes for students aged 12 and below in private schools may also resume from Monday. Co-curricular activities and other after-school activities will continue to be suspended for all levels, including at secondary schools, junior colleges and Millennia Institute.