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COVID-19: LOAs for students, school staff who travelled overseas during March holidays

Singapore's Riverside Secondary School Secondary 2 students attend Mathematics lessons on Thursday July 5, 2012.(AP Photo/Ray Chua)
FILE PHOTO: AP/Ray Chua

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Education (MOE) and Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) will issue leaves of absence (LOAs) to students and staff of schools and pre-schools who went overseas during the March school holidays.

They will also implement additional precautionary and hygiene measures in schools and pre-schools, and suspend co-curricular activities (CCAs) for two weeks when schools reopen on 23 March. The move comes as Singapore fights to contain the spread of COVD-19 within its borders.

Those on LOAs must stay away from schools

With some students and staff having travelled overseas during the March school holidays, the ministries announced in a media release on Thursday (19 March) that they will issue 14-day LOAs to those who have returned from overseas on or after 14 March, the start of the school holidays.

The LOAs will commence from the date of their return to Singapore. During this period, affected students and staff must stay away from the schools, pre-schools and student care centres, with effect from Friday.

Students on LOA, as well as those who have to stay away from school due to quarantine orders or Stay-Home Notices (SHNs), will all be supported via home-based learning, to enable them to continue with their learning.

Parents will have to take their own leave should they need to care for their children on LOA or SHN. Employers are encouraged to provide flexible work arrangements for their employees to accommodate such exceptional circumstances.

MOM encourages employers to impose LOA

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has encouraged employers to similarly impose LOA for all employees returning to Singapore between 14 and 20 March if they have not been issued with SHN.

To support this, it will allow employers and self-employed persons to claim for the $100 daily support for such company-imposed LOA under the Leave of Absence Support Programme (LOASP).

During the company-imposed LOA period, employers should adopt flexible work arrangements to allow these employees to work from home. Employers are also encouraged to provide additional paid leave to the employees if work from home is not feasible.

Thorough cleaning of schools during holidays

MOE said schools have also undergone thorough cleaning during the March holidays.

Attention is given to the cleaning of washrooms, ensuring hand soap is always replenished and making sure sanitary fittings such as water taps are in good working condition. Other areas of cleaning include jet washing of floors in canteens and shampooing of carpets.

There will be additional precautionary measures for two weeks when schools re-open:

  • Suspension of CCAs,

  • Deferment of Singapore Youth Festival Arts Presentation,

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

  • Wipe-down routine in classrooms,

  • Assigned seating and wipe-down routine in canteens,

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

These measures will supplement earlier precautionary measures, such as suspension of large group and communal activities and staggering of recess times in schools. The National School Games will continue to be suspended until the end of June holidays.

Precautionary measures for pre-schools

Meanwhile, pre-schools will also continue with their precautionary measures to safeguard the health and safety of pre-school staff and children:

  • Health checks and more frequent temperature screening for all staff and students (twice a day for kindergartens; three times a day for childcare centres),

  • Restriction of visitors into the pre-school. Parents to drop off and pick up their children outside the pre-school, with the advice to stand further apart from one another,

  • Suspension of excursions and field trips to minimise risk of exposing children to large crowds. Daily outdoor play and learning for the children will continue,

  • Suspension of large group and communal activities such as assemblies and mass celebrations: children to proceed directly to classrooms when they arrive in school, programmes and activities to be carried out in small groups, and children to have their meals in their classrooms or to stagger meal times,

  • Limit the cross-deployment of staff across centres, where possible.

MOE, MSF and the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) seek families’ understanding and cooperation to comply with the LOA in order to ensure the well-being of all students and staff when they return to school. Parents of school-going children who have questions may approach their respective schools for clarifications.

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